A Wolf's Cry
by Serenity Angel14
Summary: A perilous Immortal War. The sake of all mankind. The burdened waning soul of an Immortal warrior Lycaon prince. Everything rests in the hands of one mortal girl who wants only to live a normal life.
1. A Wolf's Cry Prelude

**Hi everyone! I know its been a while, but here is my new one, I hope you like it!**

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**Over one hundred years has passed since the night peace was declared between the Anami, (Vampires) and the Lycaons (Werewolves), and the Prince of the Lycaons is growing restless. With each decade that passes in his immortal life, it is becoming harder and harder to hold back the beast within him that each male of both races must fight an everlasting battle against. There is only one salvation from the insanity of the untamed wildness within and the thirst for lifeblood that every Immortal carries and that is to find his soulmate, the one woman born of their race destined to be bonded with them and soothe the beast within. With Immortal females few, due to millennia's of war, Darien is losing hope for both him and his kind to find peace within the chaos of the beast within. It's not until Darien meets a human woman, Serena that his hope is renewed but how can it be? Serena is human, a mortal with no attachment to the hidden world of the Immortal creatures of the night, and Lycaons and Anami alike cannot mate or bred with humans. Is this new hope for salivation for both of the races or will it bring about the end for all, Immortal and Mortal alike?**

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**Prelude**

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For nearly six thousand years a war has raged between the two powerful Immortal races of the night.

The Anami – Vampires – and the Lycaons – Werewolf-like creatures with the ability to choose between two forms at will – human and the great wolf.

The true cause of the war has long since been forgotten by most, held in secrecy only by the eldest and wisest of the Immortal Races who were charged with keeping the histories and secrets of the Immortal pasts; these trusted are known as the Keepers.

Both immortal races were once charged with the duty of protecting human kind, of nurturing them into their maturity, but long ago a rebel group of Anami betrayed their duty and fed on human life's blood. With the first drop of life's blood they became forever more cursed, forbidden from ever again entering the sun's warming light and the thirst for blood would haunt them for always. More and more fell to the curse until nearly half of the immortal race of the Anami was consumed by it.

Those still loyal to their duty fought against the cursed but were left at a disadvantage against those strengthened by the life's blood of humans; the war became perilous and futile.

With every drop of immortal blood spilt, hatred between the two immortal races grew until there were three sides of the war.

The Anami who hated the Damned but eventually refused to stand any longer with the Lycaon race due to the great numbers of Damned the Lycaon race had been forced to kill. The Anami agreed that the Damned had to be stopped but the Damned were made up of their brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, friends and allies. The deaths of their own people, of those they loved, was too much to bear. And this gave birth to hatred of the Lycaon by the Anami people.

The Lycaon race, who like their true counterparts were loyal to their own and to their duty to their very core. They refused to stop battling the Damned, to give up on their sacred duty. This sparked a war between the Lycaon and the Anami races.

And the Damned, who sought the blood of all mortals, their goal to enslave and butcher the human race. The Damned had no mercy in their evil beings and would kill Lycaon and Anami alike.

This three sided Immortal war took more and more mortal and Immortal lives with each passing year.

And so both Immortal races deemed it best for the sake of mankind to fade from the world of men and to live in the shadows of the night. To protect the mortal race, the Immortals from then onward fought in secret. And so the Immortal Races faded into legend and myth in the world of men.

But living in the shadows came with a terrible price. Without the light and the righteousness of mankind to keep the Immortal races steady and good, the darkness within the immortals grew stronger. The Lycaon race called this darkness their Beast, the animalistic side that the human side continuously fought to keep at bay. The Anami called this their Darkness; more appropriately labelled their Thirst. And slowly, one by one, the immortals began to succumb to the seductive darkness and both Immortal races became susceptible to falling into Damnation.

And with this the war changed.

Those devoured by their Beast or the Darkness became of the Damned and it wasn't long before the Damned grew to uncontrollable numbers and a fully-fledged war erupted against the protecting races, wanting mankind for themselves without challenge. The thirst for human blood was unquenchable.

But the gods of old had not forsaken them. As a salvation for each of the night dwellers, for both the Anami and the Lycaon people, a Soulmate would be born. One of their own race that was destined to be bonded with them and would bring light and hope to the darkness. The soulmate would save them from the insanity of immortality in the darkness.

After so many millennia of war and hatred, many had grown weary of the war which was once again beginning to spill into the world of men. While they were no longer humanity's guardian as it had been decided long ago that man was old enough to care for themselves, still the immortal races had to protect man from the worst and the insane of their kind. With that also came the task of keeping their own world a secret, as unlike humanity, their races were baring the consequences of millennia of war and their numbers were few. Females had become fewer and fewer which resulted in many of both kinds turning and embracing the darkness within them. Both races could no longer afford to fight a war against each other when so many of their kind were facing a war within them for their very souls.

And so peace was sought . . .


	2. A Wolf's Cry Prologue

**Prologue**

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**1873, the streets of Old Town London . . .**

The gloomy misty streets had long been deserted for the night. No one dared to be outside so late into night with the fullness of the moon overhead. Hushed whispers of the evil that lurked in the shadows did well to keep most of the human race indoors and out of the dangers of the night.

A lone dark figure silently moved through the shadows as if he were one with them. He made no sound as he walked over the uneven cobble stones, not even his black cloak moving in the gentle breeze dared to betray him. His features were hidden beneath his thick black cloak, its hood casting his face in deep shadow. He moved with swiftness and purpose in his determined stride as he made his way through the dark, deserted streets. Any who did happen to cast a glance upon him quickly turned their gaze away, as even the bravest of men would cower before the power and strength radiating from the cloaked figure.

The cloaked figure hesitated a moment in the stillness of the night, looking up at the moon in her full glory and shifted edgily. Although the moon did not cause his kind to transform involuntarily as it had in the beginning centuries of his race, the moon still held her call to his kind, urging them to join her in the night and to honour her with the glory of the hunt. His skin prickled; hungry for the run of the wild.

But he hungered for far more than the run. He hungered for blood, although it would not be the blood of humans as his Beast desired like those he had for so long called enemy fed upon; he would satisfy his blood-thirst with the blood of the plump deer that filled the woods beyond the city walls. His kind did not belong in the cities of men. No, his kind needed the freedom and solitude of the thick forests, which thanks to the ever-reaching hand of men were becoming smaller and further between.

Casting a quick glance over his shoulder, he searched the shadows for any sign of movement or danger. For so long he and his people had been burdened with the weight of the paranoia of enemies waiting to pounce from the shadows.

Unfortunately though, so often this was so, especially for him, the strongest and most feared warrior of his race. He was young, but skilled, strong and driven. He had yet to be bested since he had been a pup.

Drawing in a deep breath, he tasted the air. He trusted his sense of smell more than he trusted his sight. The eyes could be deceived but the nose could not. He could smell the drunk that had staggered by barely twenty minutes before and the feminine scent of the woman who had been with him over the usual scent of the city streets; it was a scent that was always the same no matter the city – vomit, urine, alcohol, sickness and human waste. He could smell the tomato and potato broth being stewed in the house four doors up wind from him, the scent of sour milk from the nursing woman further up the street and the sickly smell of the city rats below his feet in the sewers.

The scent of humans was all that there was. Once satisfied that he had been neither followed nor was being watched, he walked silently to an old but sturdy door and knocked upon it twice.

It was at this door that the scent of mortals vanished beneath the much stronger scent of the other intelligent races that dwelled upon the earth. One left the unmistakable scent of fresh blood – but not the scent of lifeblood the fallen carried on their flesh – and night, while the other left the scent of the forests and fresh damp earth. The scents were undetectable to the mortal race, but to one such as he the scents were unmistakable.

Long moments passed before the door creaked loudly as it opened to reveal the largest man he had seen in many years. He towered over him a good foot and his massive bulky frame would have bested twelve men in a bar brawl. This was a man of strength and warrior's skill, a man no mortal man would dare to mess with unless it was their wish to end their time upon this Earth. But he was no mortal man and despite his greater size and strength, he was no threat to him. The shadow was a far greater danger than the goliath. The large man studied him for a long silent moment before he stepped back further into the dwelling, allowing him to entrance.

The large man did not make eye contact with the cloaked man but kept his head bowed respectfully.

Unlike the mortal race, the Immortal races, the Lycaon and the Anami kind – most of which were hunters and warriors – knew when they were in the presence of a force greater than themselves and the shadow had a feeling that this man showed respect to very few.

The goliath's might and intimidating demeanour was the reason for his presence this night; he was the ideal choice for a guard with the purpose of keeping the mortals away.

The man who was nothing more than a dark shadow entered without any more regard to the goliath at the door and he made his way through the modest mortal built house until he came to a door in the kitchen. Any who looked upon it would have believed that it was the door to nothing more than a small closest which held a few brooms or maybe even a small pantry but when the man opened the door, a broom closest nor a pantry was revealed. Instead a dimly lit descending stone staircase was revealed in the darkness.

Without hesitating, the cloaked figure stepped down onto the top stair and looked down into the darkness, seeing through it clearly as if it were as lit by the light of day. Closing the door behind him, he slowly and warily, descended the staircase, knowing that two large men, simular size to the goliath who had opened the door stood guard at the bottom of the staircase. He paid them no heed as he swept past them towards another door of which steams of golden light shone from beneath. The smell of ash hit his nose and he knew a fire was burning on the other side of the door, his ears picking up the occasional crackle of the flames devouring wood in their hot golden glory.

The cloaked figure opened the door to reveal a room far grander than should have been found in such a rundown dwelling, a room with a fire lit in the hearth on the opposite side of the room.

Grand tapestries laced walls of the large room, the images revealing ancient battles between the two ancient immortal races of the Anami and the Lycaons. Deep coloured rugs littered the floors, expensive and ancient ornaments and furnishings decorated the room. Finely crafted furniture was scattered around the room and a grand fire place that took up half the wall cast a golden glow over the room.

The shadow's gaze quickly found the three other occupants of the room. Two of the occupants were middle aged men both healthy and fit, and the other was a young man who appeared to have yet to reach his twenties but in the world of the night appearances were most often deceiving.

"Ah, Darien." Greeted the darker of the two middle aged men.

Darien raised both hands to his hood and lowered it, bowing his head once in respectful greeting to them all as he took off his cloak, revealing his penetrating deep blue eyes and thick black hair, hair blacker than darkness itself. His hair he had inherited from his father but his eyes he had inherited from his mother. He was Prince Darien Davidus Endymion Capellarius, the crown prince and future king of the Lycaon race.

"Father." Darien greeted respectfully as he bowed his head once again and he turned to the other two occupants of the room. He bowed his head respectfully to the older of the fairer older men before repeating the action to the younger. "King Loomis. Prince Andrew."

They both bowed their blond heads respectfully in return to him.

Darien moved gracefully to his father's side and they all took their seats around the finely crafted pine wood coffee table in four comfortable overly stuffed armchairs, all facing each other.

"We are here to negotiate a peace between our people." The leader and ruler of the Lycaon race, King Septimus Edmondus Capellarius the third, began. "Too many have already fallen to this pointless war and the mortals are now becoming causalities in a war that is not their own."

"Agreed." Said the blond Anami King. King Arcturus Edwardus Loomis the second had ruled the Anami for nearly seventeen hundred years but he did not look a day over thirty-five. "This war has cost both of our races too much, our numbers are decreasing rapidly. At this rate both races will be extinct within the next century."

"The war has gone on too long and we are all paying the price for it." Crown Prince Hadrianus Danielis Loomis, more commonly known as Prince Andrew, stated sadly.

Darien looked up at the prince who had been his enemy for so long and saw the soul deep sorrow in the Anami's eyes. He knew that look well; it was the look of love lost. He had seen it in the eyes of so many of his people for far too long and it broke his heart. He had long ago learned to close his heart to love. He allowed so few close to him and as a result he had less to loose. Sometimes he wondered if it was worth it.

"I am sorry to hear about your sister, Prince Andrew." Darien told him formally but sincerely.

It was only a month ago, but a blink of an eye to the Immortal kind, that the second and only other born of the Anami Royal Family had died after her child had been born stillborn. She had died from despair and a broken heart, her bondmate dying with her the very same hour by his own hand.

Such was the fate of so many of the women of his own kind, especially as of late. Due to the war, the numbers on both sides were few and women were even fewer. To top it off, with the great difficulty of conception and then to carry to full term, so few children were being born and both pregnancy complications and depression was killing too many of their females. Unlike the belief within mortal legends Vampires and Lycaons were born, not infected by bite, and so their races were dangerously close to extinction.

Many said that this was the price of so many centuries of pointless war. It had been one of the main reasons that most on both sides had demanded an end to the war, demanded peace, this was their purpose this night. They had come to form a peace treaty between the Anami and the Lycaon kind and bring peace after six thousand years of war. No one could remember the true cause of the war but they still knew the thriving hatred and distrust between the two races who had once lived peacefully with the mortals in the human world.

In the light. So long ago.

Prince Andrew looked up into Darien's eyes, the prince's eyes as green as fresh thriving clover. "Too many have been lost in this pointless war. It is time for peace. My sister was only one of many. With females so few and living offspring rare, none of us can afford the cost of this war any longer." He sat up tall and proud in his chair, like the prince and future king that he was. "This war will end this night or I will never be king." He turned and looked straight into the shocked eyes of his disapproving father. "On my love for my sister, this is my oath and it shall come to pass. I will no longer be part of a war that is not my own. My sister Elizabeth for so long warned us all that this would happen and we chose to ignore her. And she lost her own life to this war. Not to a blade but to this war no less. The Moon Goddess is punishing us and I will ignore her divine will no longer."

Darien suddenly found himself respecting and liking the Anami Prince. There was something about him that reminded him of himself. He had never met the prince face to face before but he had heard much of his passion and love for his people and his kindness and conviction. The whispers he had heard of the Anami Prince had not been false.

Sitting just as tall and as proudly as the prince sitting opposite him, Darien addressed him with a respectful and admiring tone. "You have shown passion and conviction before me that I cannot ignore. I too shall pledge this night that we shall either have peace or my people will have another as their next king."

Darien could feel his father's glaring eyes upon him but he did not look at his father. He was a crown prince and a future king; he had been raised as such. He had been raised to always have his way and to always do what was right for the people and for the mortals whom they secretly protected. Peace was the only right course and he would stick to it even if it meant that he had to give up his crown. But he was no fool, he was the only heir as he was an only child and any other family eligible for ruling had been killed long ago. His father would never let any other but his son take his throne when the time came.

There would be peace this night.

Darien sensed his father turn his attention in the direction of the Anami King. "It seems that our sons have spoken for us and are set in their ways. My son is the future king of my people; soon his word will be the law of my people. How can I ignore my son's voice?"

King Loomis chuckled, clearly amused. "I too cannot ignore the voice of the future king of my people. It seems that sometimes wisdom truly lies in the innocent eyes of the young." No one missed the pride he held in his voice for his son.

Darien held his tongue that he was not so young; within the next century his one thousandth year would come to pass, and by no means was anything about him innocent. He was a warrior, the strongest, most skilled and the most feared of all the Lycaon kind; he had fought, he had drawn blood and he had killed in cold blood – many of which had once been called friend and brother.

King Capellarius rose to his feet and extended his hand to the Anami King. "Then it is done. The war is done with no conditions set other than that there is forevermore peace between us."

For a long moment King Loomis looked up at the other King and his outstretched hand. "Understand, I wish peace as much as you, but what of the Damned? Despite all else, they must be stopped. Regardless of whom they are bound too."

Oh no. There was no way Darien was going to let anything come between the quickly agreed on peace treaty. By his own life, there would be peace declared this night, no matter the sacrifice on his part.

Before another word could be said, Darien was on his feet and staring at the two great Kings with hard resolve and determination. "The Damned are no longer any concern of yours." He declared with all the authority he had as Prince of the Lycaon race. "From this day hence the Damned will be mine to contend with."

"And mine." Prince Andrew stated, as he jumped to his feet in a single movement of grace that was typical of the Vampires, and joined Darien in staring down their fathers.

The two Kings exchanged a long glance before they both turned back to their sons and nodded once, portraying their agreement.

Finally, one war was at an end. After so long, so simply, the war between the Lycaon and the Anami kind was no more.

Darien breathed a deep sigh in relief, even knowing that the other war would not be so easily ended. But still, the relief was a nice reprieve after so long without any.

Now at last there was peace between the two Immortal races but had it come to pass in time enough to save their people or was it already too late? What did the future hold for them and did the future hold his own personal salvation or would he become one of the Damned who fell to the madness of the darkness?

Already Darien could feel the bloodlust, the beast, within him trying to get free and claim him, to drag him into the darkness forever more. His beast yearned to be free of his control but that was the thing about the human mind, even an immortal one, it could only hold onto sanity and hold back the howling madness for so long. It needed an anchor, it needed light and warmth.

He needed his destined mate, the one born to soothe the beast within.

Would he find her before it was too late, or would he be left to slowly lose himself to the darkness, from which there was no return?

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**End Notes:**

**Chapter 1 will be up as soon as it is edited. You would not believe the amount of editing that just this much needed! Capital HEADACHE!**


	3. Chapter 1 Salvation

**PLEASE NOTE: I have to ask for everyone to please have a little patience with me as I am currently between editors, (which are REALLY hard to find for me as they need the patience of a saint, the spelling and grammar skills of a university graduate, the honesty of a nun, and one whoppingly big sense of humour). So this means that this chapter has only been edited twice instead of the usual 4 times - which trust me, is really needed. I can only edit myself so many times otherwise the paragraphs ended up a lot more long winded than they start out.**

**So please have patience with me and excuse any spelling, grammar and minor plot errors you may come across; I am a really poor editor. However feel free to let me know if you find any errors that really stand out.**

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**Chapter 1 – Salvation**

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**Present Day**

Deep within the silence of the dead of the night, far from civilisation and the blind callow eyes of the mortal humans, a silent black shadow stalked its prey. Crystalline dark blue eyes watched with dark predatory intent and focus as the predator focused on its helpless unsuspecting prey.

The helpless and completely unaware rabbit sniffed the damp forest earth in search of food.

The rains had been generous this year, the grass was lush and green and the rabbits were fat, juicy and plenty. No creature was likely to starve this season, not that his kind would ever starve, not when they no longer depended on the nature's hunt as they once had, long ago. No, these current times were all about convenience and as little effort as possible, thanks to the ingenuity and unlimited potential and imagination of the mortal human race that he and his own protected from the evil that lurked in the shadows of the night. One phone call and some money and his own would have all the food they would ever need.

It had for so long amazed – and somewhat amused – him that a race with such inventiveness and a thriving thirst for knowledge were so, by their own fear-driven will, blind to the evils that lurked in their world that they had long ago shrugged off as figments of the imaginations and myths. A fear-driven relentless denial that made them such easy prey for the Damned; deep down the mortal race did remember, did see, what lay beneath the icing that was their world, but it was their refusal to believe that there was something bigger, stronger, than them left in the world. That were was something to fear in the dark, despite their delusional denials.

Regardless of their selective blindness, they had created a world of convenient comforts for themselves and the Immortal races. But even though in many ways, modern times were good for his kind, Darien longed desperately for the days of old when his soul wasn't so heavily burdened, when his mind wasn't weighed down with the insanity and darkness that was so close to claiming him, one of the strongest and eldest of their kind.

He hungered – as did all unmated Immortal kind – so for the blood and flesh of mortal kind that was the greatest temptation and gravest taboo for his kind. The tasting of the flesh of mortals, draining a mortal life away, came with the highest of prices, which most believed was the damnation of the soul – that was for those who believed that Immortals possessed souls to begin with. With that first kill and taste of a mortal's death comes the irreversible release of the unquenchable maddening thirst that every Immortal carried within. With the taste of death the man within lost his inner battle and his beast consumed him forever, devouring all trace of the humanity within.

Muscles rippled silently beneath raven black pelt that shimmered with the light of the silvery pale moon above as he tensed, ready to pounce on his prey. There was no better feeling he knew than the thrill of the hunt, the scent of fear filling his nose and fresh blood from still warm pray spilling into his muzzle. Although rabbits were a supply of food and gave a somewhat – if only brief – respite from the need to hunt – preferably much larger prey – it did nothing to soothe the restlessness and the untamed wildness of the beast that he carried within him.

In the days of old his kind had hunted much larger game. Deer, bear, mountain lion, even water buffalo, all of which had been plentiful; that was before the human race had conquered the earth like a plague. In the days of old the hunt had done more to soothe his restlessness and his beast, but now nothing seemed to give him any lasting sense of peace or contentment.

Darien had grown too wary of life. He had lived long and in recent years his reasons for continuing on, without the comfort of a Wolfmate, were fleeting. He lived to protect his people, and the mortals, from the Damned but it seemed such a futile effort, growing more so with each passing year. The number of Lycaon females and Lycaon young born was decreasing with every passing year – as it had been increasingly so for centuries – more and more of the Immortals were embracing the curse and becoming the Damned.

If it kept going as it was, then mankind would be left alone against the worst plague the earth would ever know, the Damned, whose number grew with each passing year. With each Immortal that became a Damned meant one more number to the Damned and one less of the protecting Immortal kind.

Maybe the time of the Immortal races were coming to an end.

At the thought, which never failed to stir such impotent rage within him, Darien pounced, the small helpless creature standing no chance against his superhuman strength, speed, agility and senses that rivalled all other predators of nature. There was only one other creature on the planet that could match the capabilities of his kind and that was not the mortals but an ancient race, just like his, the vampiric race known as the Anami.

As warm blood touched his tongue, the primitive part of him – his beast that grew stronger every day as his control grew weaker like the ocean's constant battering against the cliffs that continued to crumble with each wave – burned and screamed for much more satisfying prey.

For human pray.

But the laws were absolute. No hunting mortals; the only exception was if the kill was approved by the High Council made up of both Immortal races, created after the war had ended. The only sanctioned kills were those who were a threat to their people and their way of life. Most sanctioned kills were those of the two races who had stopped fighting the darkness they all carried within and had surrendered to it, to the bloodlust. Once an Immortal tasted human blood, it was an unquenchable and undeniable addiction; there was no coming back from that. They became the Damned that constantly hungered for fresh human blood. The young Damned were like wild savage animals, it was only after centuries that they recover some semblance of intelligent creatures, of their previous selves in that they talked and showed some semblance of control.

There was only one salvation for the Immortals; their destined mate, the one born to soothe the Beast and the bloodlust within, and bring hope and light into their dark lives, driving back the darkness and taming the beast within. But with females of both Immortal races becoming fewer and fewer in number, it was unlikely that Darien would ever find his true wolfmate, his salvation. Such was the truth for so many of the remaining Immortals struggling to remain strong against their beast and hunger.

Sadly, it was not as it was written in mortal legends and stories; both Lycaon and Anami kind alike weren't created or "turned" from mortal kind, they were born of their own kind. Every mortal throughout their history that had tried to be turned had died a short agonising death within a day of being infected.

It was whispered among the Immortal Kind that the few offspring being born, especially females, was a punishment from the Moon Goddess, the mother of the two Immortal races of the night. It was said that with the mortals ruling the day, the children of the Goddess, of the moon, would have the night. The night was their world, the darkness kept their secrets and for a short time allowed them to run free and wild as they had once done before the human race had so completely conquered the world.

And soon the mortals would have the night also, as the two Immortal races were rapidly fading into extinction and with hope waning, more and more Immortals were turning to the ways of the Damned and more and more of them were dying, most taking their own lives rather than become that which they hunted.

Darien looked up at the moon with deep tormenting sadness that ran right down into him, possessing his darkening encumbered soul, the blood from the kill he still held in his mouth ran down his thickly furred muzzle.

Darien closed his eyes and silently prayed to the Moon Goddess to help them, for soon he feared that it would be too late for either of her sired races, for even he had long run out of reasons to hope.

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The sun was threatening the night sky by the time Darien returned to his manor from his hunt. After he had satisfied his beast's hunger for still-warm raw flesh with his kill – two plump rabbits – Darien had then ventured into the city to hunt something different, something far larger and far more deadly.

He had killed no less than four Damned this night, three fallen Lycaons and a fallen Anami, but he had not been in time to save two mortal women the Damned had hunted. One mortal woman had been killed by the group of three Lycaon Damned who had been feasting upon her still warm flesh and the lone fallen Anami Damned had drained the second of her life's blood.

After he had set fire to the bodies of the Damned to hide the evidence of their existence, Darien had then seen to the bodies of the two women; even though it was easier to dispose of the bodies by means that they would never be discovered, he respected the mortal's rituals for their dead. Instead of destroying the bodies, Darien chose instead to hide their true cause of death and leave them somewhere they would likely to eventually be discovered – mostly _after_ the elements and nature had made it impossible for their true cause of death to be determined.

The half-eaten body of the first woman Darien had placed deep in the forests, off a hiking trail that wouldn't likely to be used until the weather changed. When she was finally found, the condition of her body would be attributed to the elements and wild animals. He was regretful that he was forced to prolong the suffering of the mortal woman's loved ones, but she would eventually be found and lain to rest.

And the second, with whispered words of regret, Darien had slit her throat and thrown her into the flowing stream that ran through the park near the University campus. It would not be long before her body was discovered.

It surprised him – and gave him a dying ember of hope – that an innocent mortal's death still had some effect on him. It was evidence that there may still be enough of him left – despite the growing strength of the feral beast within him – that was saddened and angered by the loss of life, especially that of delicate mortal women who'd been helpless to defend themselves against the maliciousness of the stronger, faster, Immortal Damned.

In his wolf form, Darien silently and lithely jumped the story-high solid white stone wall that surrounded the manor – his home and sanctuary. The one place he did not have to constantly have to guard himself.

His wolf form was that of a sheer black wolf that was easily six time the size of the largest wolf of nature. There was no other colour that detectable in his pelt, but in the light of the sun his pelt gave off a slight bluish tint that otherwise went unnoticed. His eyes, even though their shape changed into the more circular shape of the wolf, his natural colour remained, a deep dark blue.

The eyes of his mother.

There was a part of him that yearned for the lush green damp earth of the land he had been born upon, the land now called by the name England. Once, long ago it had been known by another name, a name which had long been forgotten by the mortals.

It had been centuries though, since he had called the Island land home, the place from which his parents ruled all of the Lycaon kind. A part of him had been sorry to leave, so many centuries before, but the time had come in which his beast had been unable to be leashed by his father's right of rule. Darien had been born to be an Alpha, a king, and it was common knowledge that two Alphas could not remain under the same roof – not even family – for long before the compulsion to fight to establish utter dominance over the other overruled the bonds of blood.

And so Darien had left for the new world in which he had brought together a pack to call his own.

His parents had understood, after all it was the way of their kind. They hadn't been thrilled when, a century later, his much younger sister – his only sibling – had decided to follow him, to join his pack, but she had done so for two reasons.

Firstly, his sister Rei loved her brother and wanted some freedom of her own from their royal parents, and secondly, one of Darien's most trusted and skilled brother's in arms – whom of which had been given the title as his generals, his Betas – had claimed the Lycaon princess as his wolfmate.

Jadeite had been reluctant to leave his Alpha, friend and brother, for the sake of life in the royal court, but for her he would have. Fortunately, Rei had not asked it of him, instead she had gone with him to a new life away from the Lycaon Royal Court.

Darien's closest and most trusted friends and brothers were his Betas, his seconds in command so to speak. In the beginning, there had been four in his inner must trusted circle, Jadeite – Rei's wolfmate – Nephlite, Zoicite and Malachite.

Now only three remained as Malachite had, centuries before, become to close to losing control of his beast, the risk of him falling and becoming a Damned had been great. He had given up any and all hope that he would find his wolfmate in time to save his soul. Rather than fall to his beast and become one of the Damned which they hunted, Malachite had instead taken on an impossible mission, a suicide mission, from which he had never returned. He had chosen an honourable death rather than betray and endanger his brothers, his Alpha and his pack.

His name was remembered with reverence and honour. Malachite had served his Alpha, his pack and his kind with unwavering loyalty and honour. Many a Damned had fallen by his skilled hand before his death.

There were two things Darien remembered most clearly about his former first Beta. The first was that Malachite had been his most trusted and closest friend and confidant, serving him with brotherly love and unwavering loyalty, without question. He had protected and served his pack and his Alpha, his family with all his might and valour. And the second was his wolf form. Malachite had been the only Lycaon Darien had ever known in all his existence whose wolf form had had a pelt of pure snow white, without a single blemish. In the snow, the wolf had been completely invisible, except for his dark eyes – eyes that had been almost black against the sheer white of his pelt.

Malachite had been his closest brother, trusted like no other. Malachite had known him better than he had known himself, he had never been able to fool or lie to Malachite and no one had felt Malachite's loss greater than Darien had. There were still days that Darien mourned his honoured lost brother. It was mostly for Malachite and the sacrifice he had made in his end that had kept Darien going for so long.

Darien forced his thoughts away from his lost Beta, his brother. He made sure to remember his brother throughout the eternity of time, but it still hurt him so much to linger too long on those memories. His loss was still as strong in Darien today as it was in year he had disappeared to go to his honourable death.

Jadeite, Nephlite and Zoicite everyday endeavoured to be just like their fallen brother had been, to be worthy of his example.

After Malachite's disappearance, Darien had named Jadeite Malachite's successor as his first Beta. Jadeite was his brother-in-law, as his sister had married Jadeite only a month after they had realised that they were mates. As it usually went in the Lycaon world, that had been taking it slow.

Jadeite was just as loyal and dedicated in his duty and to his Alpha as Malachite had been, but despite how hard he tried, Jadeite just couldn't be as serious and business-like fulltime as Malachite had been. When he had to be serious and focused, Jadeite was the very shadow of Malachite, but when he didn't need to be, Jadeite was funny and lively. He was happy; he had every reason to be. He was the only one of the Beta's – and Alpha – who had found his wolfmate.

Jadeite had hair that was as fiery red as his wife's temper. Strangely he had been born with rich blond hair, but had changed over the centuries until it had become a vibrant fiery red; some said that the blood of his kills had stained his hair so many times that the Goddess had surrendered and willed it red rather than persist in keeping the blond he had been born with.

Immortals had a lot of time to fill, and it amused Darien that in-spite of all the differences between the mortals and the Immortals, there were still so many similarities between them. Immortals were still people.

Jadeite had kept his baby blue eyes that belonged rightfully to as blond man though. Too much time had since passed that Darien couldn't remember if the look had once looked strange to him or not.

Jadeite was tall, not as bulkily or as broad in the shoulders as Darien himself or Nephlite, but he was broader across the shoulders than Zoicite whose figure was the tall and slimmest of all. Jadeite's wolf form was the same shade as his hair, fiery red on his back, head, tail and down his sides to his hock – the elbow of the wolf form. The rest of his pelt was white from his belly and flank to his paws, to his chest and up to the underside of his jaw, in the true wolf fashion. His colour was strongest in wolf form around his eyes, where the shade darkened to almost a blazing crimson brown.

Nephlite was his second Beta, and almost as serious and grave as Malachite had been. He was the closer of the two unmated Beta's to falling into Damnation. There hadn't been joy in his friend since that fleeting moment when he had heard the news that Jadeite had found his mate in the Lycaon Princess. He was a fierce warrior; there was none other than Darien himself who was better with a blade or at physical combat. He had forest green eyes that were like jade in the moonlight, dark and deep. His hair, that he kept long, easily reaching the square of his back, was deep forest brown, a fitting match to his forest green eyes. Nephlite's wolf form was that a forest brown wolf, dark and easily camouflaged in the forest as there was not a trace of white on his pelt to be seen. The only white his wolf form had was the whites of his jade green eyes.

And Zoicite, the youngest of the four of them, still had a trace of hope for his mate within him. There was still a spark of life left within him. He was able to smile once in a while and he required the respite of the hunt only slightly more than half that the rest of them did. He was the one of them that talked the most, who still whined about life from time to time, and still brought a new joke into the walls of the manor every now and then.

None of them minded though, as these days it was uplifting, encouraging, that the youngest of them still wanted to live the life he had. Zoicite had at least a few more centuries before he reached the point of despair that the rest of them lingered further and further within.

Zoicite had long pale blonde hair – only an inch or two shorter than Nephlite's – that was usually tied back in a ponytail at the base of his neck, that when he was in his wolf form made him strongly resemble an Australian Dingo, especially since his belly, leg, paw and the underside of his tail were pure white.

Of course Zoicite was teased and taunted frequently about the resemblance. As of late – in the last few decades – the jokes had taken on the theme of eating stolen babies. No one meant any disrespect to the mother in the Australian outback who had lost a child, but boys would be boys. Immortal kind were hardly any different.

Darien was grateful for his Betas, and wasn't blind to the fact that Nephlite especially was holding on mainly because he didn't want to let Darien down. Jadeite and Zoicite did what they could to keep both his and Nephlite's hopes up, but it had long been a futile effort.

With a heavy, burdened sigh, Darien looked up at his manor. The house was his by the laws of both the Immortal and mortal worlds. This was his land, his territory, and none could dispute the fact. The manor was dark and old by mortal standards, but its upkeep was minimally consistent and inside and outside it looked as it did when it was first built; only the Immortals knew that he was the one who'd built it over five hundred years ago. The mortals believed that it had been his ancestor who had done so.

The manor stood four stories high, with two levels of basement, and easily covered three thousand feet, which made it roomy enough for his pack. He of course had the master bedroom on the top floor with the large balcony that overlooked the surrounding forests and mountains. The manor rested on flat land by a cliff that was a sheer drop of one hundred feet. The wall that surrounded the manor had not been run across the cliff face as his kind were Immortal, most Immortals would survival the fall.

In fact, some of his pack – mostly the younger males – enjoyed the thrill of running down it in their wolf forms. There was a deep river beneath that cushioned their fall; a mortal attempting the feet would surely fall to their death or break their bodies on the surface of the water and drowned.

He and his pack had solitude and isolation here, no mortals came here unless they were beckoned, or the occasionally lost.

This was home, this was where he found what little peace there was left for him in this world and this is where his pack resided. He fought for them, they were his family, his pack, and he took his responsibility as Alpha as seriously as all else. It was his responsibility to keep them safe, to assure they had food to eat and a shelter over their heads, and it was his responsibility to keep order by any means necessary.

Lycaon Kind had behaviour traits exactly as that of their mortal counterparts. Males and females alike were competitive, territorial and often aggressive. It was the Alpha's job to maintain leadership and control, and that was accomplished by fear, respect and clearly established dominance. But his kind were more than aggressive fighting animals, like the mortal wolf, they were loyal to no end to each other, they shared everything they had and took care of their mates, young and elderly. Family, the pack, was the most important thing. Undying loyalty to one's mate, a sense of community embedded into their very cores and an unmatchable intuition. They loved their freedom and understood that that freedom came with responsibility and that was no truer than it was for the Alpha.

They were Lycaon, half wolf, half human; although there was the occasional "dispute", they lived in harmony, they lived together. The loyalty to one's pack, and mate, was unbreakable and could survive the greatest, darkest, trials.

Life and loyalty to the pack and to one's mate, until either death or Damnation – then nothing mattered but one's own survival and hunger.

Darien shook his head to free himself of his roaming thoughts, and reached deep within him for what his people called the "life magic". Calling it to the surface, Darien felt a flicker of a moment in which warmth enwrapped him for but a heartbeat, it felt like being submerged in warm water, he stood upright in his naked human form.

The magic that allowed them to change did not extend to clothing or any other accessory worn. This was one of the reasons why modesty wasn't so important to his race but at times it did cause a problem or two. Most of the time those problems did not include the cold as Immortal kind were able to maintain their body temperature, unless of course the temperatures were extreme.

Maybe if he was naked in the middle of a snow storm on the southern icecaps for a day, the cold would affect him.

Darien was the only one of his pack that hunted alone – although maybe that was because he had ordered it so. Sometimes he would take one of his Beta's with him, but otherwise, unless there was a reason not too, he hunted alone.

He did not really care anymore if he didn't come back, but he sure as hell cared if another of his pack didn't.

Darien sighed deeply, tolerantly, but did not turn as he sensed the air shift behind him. He knew when his own approached and quickly acted to leash his beast against the urge to attack the being who had approached him unannounced from behind.

"The beast in you is sliding deeper into shadow." His younger sister Rei said sadly, knowingly, as she stepped out of the shadow of the wall behind him and threw him a pair of his black pants. Modesty may not have been important but no sibling wished to see all which one's mate did.

"I can sense it."

"Rei, I'm-."

"Don't say you're fine!" Rei snapped warningly, concern lacing her tone, diluting her anger just a little. "By the goddess, don't you dare lie to me!"

Darien sighed once again, this time for patience as he slid into the pants, pulling them up before he turned around to face his sister.

Like him, Rei had midnight black hair, blue eyes and tanned skin – that somehow still looked pale in the sunlight – and had a tempter and stubborn will that could strike fear into the hearts of the gods themselves, but that's where their resemblance ended in most ways.

Rei's long midnight black hair – that had the slightest tint of red streaks through it when she was in the sunlight – ran down her back to brush her backside, and her eyes were blue in truth but they held her tempter and her spirit that almost made them look red like burning rubies. She was a full head shorter than him and was delicate in a way that only a female and a princess could be.

In her wolf form, which was two full sizes smaller than Darien's own because she was female, was a mixture of dark fiery red, black and dark creamy brown. In the sunlight, Rei's pelt was a magnificent layer of shimmering dark golden and red.

Rei had had the rare gift of finding her mate long before her beast had gained sway over her, so she did not know what it was to struggle with the wild untamed beast within. She was as stubborn as the day was long, and always got her way, whether it was from their parents, her mate Jadeite and Darien himself.

Rei also had a gift for seeing things others did not, knowing what others could not. She was not psychic, but her intuition was stronger than that of any other Darien had ever known, and he had known many in his long centuries. He had never been able to fool her or hide anything from her, at least not for very long.

It was only his rivalling force of will and stubborn streak that kept her from knowing every secret Darien had ever had.

At Darien's silence to her outburst, Rei visibly softened, becoming as serious and as sad as one slipping into death. "You shouldn't be hunting alone. Not with how close to losing control you are. One drop of human lifeblood or one piece of human flesh and you are gone forever brother. The pack needs you too much for you to keep taking these foolish risks!"

Darien suppressed a warning growl even though they both knew he would never harm her. No Lycaon male would ever harm a female, Immortal or not. They were too precious, too cherished, which was why even the strongest, fiercest males of the Lycaon kind were ruled by their females, whether she was his mate or not.

Many a time, Darien had seen his own father, the King and Supreme Alpha of the Immortal Lycaon kind, willingly bow to his mother's slightest whim, maybe it was because of her immovable will and strength, but Darien was willing to bet that it was because he loved her so much, even after three millennia.

Rei was every bit as strong and as stubborn as their mother, but she was also just as loving, caring, overprotective and she worried constantly about those she cared about.

Darien knew that Rei saw it as her duty, her place as his loving sister, to care for him as their mother had, as she cared and saw to her mate as a loving wife. She wanted to assure that he remembered that he was loved and worried about, so that he may be stronger in his fight against his beast.

Darien looked into her spitfire eyes with strength and authority in his own, and he answered her in a firm tone, "You know as well as any other, that I would never do anything to endanger the pack or you."

Rei closed her eyes, bowed her head and shook it back and forth in a solemn disbelieving gesture. "I sense your weariness as clearly as I sense your raging beast that draws evermore closer and closer to the surface. You need to hold on so your mate can find you."

Darien knew his expression became downright sceptical but he could do nothing about it. "You know as well as I that I have no mate to come. I will die by my own hand, and the time is coming sister. You need to cease your belief that there is hope for me. The best you can hope for me is a quick death without causality."

Fierce will and fury flashed like a solar flash in the sparking eyes of his sister. Her fists clenched tightly and her teeth snapped together as she took a defiant step forward and glared sternly up into his eyes.

Darien waited patiently for her reaction, not concerned by whatever was to come. He was one of the few that did not fear his sister's fury, especially when it was centred on something he could not change. He was going to fall to his beast soon enough, he could no sooner stop the sun from rising; he had already accepted that he would not last the decade, much less the century.

He would be fortunate to last the year.

"If you will not remain strong for me or the pack." Rei growled through her teeth, fire in her fiery eyes. For too long she had been watching him draw closer to Damnation and she feared greatly that she and the pack would not have Darien as their Alpha for too much longer.

As much as Rei loved and believed in her mate, she did not want to see him as Alpha. As the mate of the Lycaon Princess, and Darien's second in command, Jadeite would be the pack's Alpha if Darien was lost.

But no one wanted that, not even Jadeite. Her brother was the true Alpha.

"Then do it for the mate you will leave behind, alone and defenceless the face her own beast and loneliness without you! You will condemn a female of a dying race to her death in a time when new life is so desperately needed! You _are_ stronger than a mere rogue, damn it! Remember that, Darien!"

And with a huff of barely controlled fury, Darien watched his fiery sister whirl on her heel and stalk away from him, worry and fear drenching her scent as thoroughly as her anger.

Rei was doing what she thought best, she did not and could not understand his struggle, and he loved her for her caring sisterly way. He did not worry for his sisters sake after he was gone; Rei would be kept safe by her mate and by the pack. He did not fear for her, now when she had her mate.

Something he would never know.

* * *

Serena woke, feeling disorientated and detached from reality.

She had known it was a dream, but it had felt so real! She had never had a dream so vivid or emotionally disconcerting! Her heart was still racing and her breathing was shallow and rapid, she was panting like she'd just run a mile unprepared.

Serena slowly sat up in her single bed, realising that the white cotton sheet was wrapped around her in such a dishevelled way that she knew she'd been tossing and turning restlessly. Her pillow wasn't on the bed or on the floor any where around her. It took a minute of visibly searching the room to locate it.

It was in her doorless closest, sitting on top of her tennis shoes. Her _muddy_ tennis shoes.

Just great. All Serena wanted to do was to go back to sleep and deal with everything another day.

It was bad enough that she felt so tired because she'd had such a distressing dream about being chased through the woods by a black shadow that she hadn't been able to see with the full moon overhead, but now she had to wash her only pillowcase on top of it.

After a brief glance at her bedside table clock, Serena threw her upper body back down onto the bed and pulled her sheet up over her head with a long deep groan.

Great, it got even better. Her alarm hadn't gone off over an hour ago and she'd slept in. She had no classes today, but she was late in meeting the girls for breakfast before they spent the day studying for their approaching midterms in the next two weeks.

If this was how the day was starting, just what was the day going to be like?

* * *

Serena arrived at the dainty little café on Campus that did the best breakfast – at a student's prices – just as the girls were leaving. They gave her slightly affectionate but mainly annoyed looks – they'd been her friends forever, they knew her well – so Serena had brought her breakfast and had eaten it on the way while Lita had carried her backpack with her textbooks and notebook inside, ready to do some serious studying.

Her _breakfast_ had been a banana and a fruit and muesli bar.

Her three best friends – all of which were as different as black was too white, but they all loved and were loyal to each other to no end – were all she had except for her brother-.

But Serena refused to think about him now. It hurt too much, all she wanted to do was spend some time with the girls, even if that time was spent studying.

First, there was Mina, who looked so much like her that they could've been blood sisters. Mina had almost the same shade of golden blonde hair as her, although Serena knew that her hair was a deeper golden that Mina's – but it was by a single tone's difference – and it was longer too. While Mina's hair ran down to her backside, Serena's brushed her the backs of her knees. Mina wore her hair in a big blue bow at the back of her head, which made her look almost sweet. Both of their eyes were shades of blue; while Mina's was a medium blue, Serena's own were a light sky blue. They were also both shortish – Mina was taller by a mere two inches – and slim, however Mina had more in the chest department than Serena did.

Mina dismissed that fact when Serena voiced it by insisting that Serena was just a late bloomer, that she still had some "filling-out" to do.

Serena loved Mina for that; she was a tad insecure about her slim figure.

Mina was the happiest person on the planet, and was just as enthusiastic about studying and school as Serena was, but they all helped each other through that. Mina was kind and generous and ambitious to no end, she wanted to be a famous singer and she had the voice to accomplish it. Mina was the kind of outgoing person who had the determination to go after anything she wanted and was sure to get it.

Amy was the almost the exact opposite of Mina. Amy was as short as Serena and almost as slim and girl-like, but that was where the resemblance ended. Amy had short black hair that flowed around her head like air, but in the direct light Amy's hair almost looked deep ocean blue. It was weird but Amy had insisted since they had met that she'd been born with it. Her eye colour was only a shade or two lighter than the blue tint in her hair and she always dressed like a sweet little catholic girl. She was shy and quiet, with just a tad of social-inadequacy, but that came from a lifetime of being so much more intelligent than most other people. Amy had a mind that was so sharp and brilliant that several prestigious Universities had almost gone to war over to have her attend their institution, but Amy was as loving and as loyal a friend as anyone else.

When the other girls had all decided that they should go to the same University, Amy hadn't hesitated. She had the potential to be great, change-the-world kind of great, and could have gone anywhere, to the very best schools, but to reassure them she had assured them that she knew what she was doing.

She didn't need to go to the best schools to change the world.

Amy could do anything and be anyone she wanted to be, and she had chosen family. They all loved her for that. It would have been so hard to watch her go knowing they would have only seen her once or twice a year, but they would have endured it if it had been what Amy had really wanted.

But what Amy had really wanted had been her friends; one's Serena knew Amy wouldn't give up for anything.

And Lita, well if there was ever anyone to be called Amy's opposite, it was Lita. Lita wasn't smart like Amy – no one was – or had a model figure and flawless beauty like Mina, but Lita had her own beauty. She was the most loyal, loving, protective and out-spoken person Serena had ever known. She stood nearly a full head taller than Mina, towering over the three of them, and was a tom-boy to boot.

Serena had once heard someone describe Lita as an Amazon Queen. She'd had to admit, the description did fit. Lita was tall, with long legs – again something she'd heard – and her long medium brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, all except a few stray strands that framed her face. Her eyes were a gorgeous deep green that reminded Serena of dark emeralds. Lita was fearless, relentless and physically skilful. She was competent in three martial arts, never hesitated to protect or stand up for a friend and she dated a lot – every cute guy she went out with reminded her of her ex-boyfriend, although she never said which one she was talking about.

And Lita was well endowed in the chest department. No doubt she'd been wearing women's bras in middle school.

They were all the best of friends, despite their differences, as close as any sisters ever could be. They had been together for longer than they could ever remember and they planned to remain close for the rest of their lives.

"Come'on, Serena!"

Serena blinked, pulling herself from her thoughts, to realise that the three girls were standing on the steps of the library, looking back at her, waiting for her. She had been so deep in thought that she hadn't realised that they had reached the library already.

With a wide happy grin, Serena hurried up the stairs after them. Studying was boring, but spending time with her friends was worth anything.

No matter what happened, no matter what life through at them, they would always have each other. They were sisters and nothing would ever change that. Serena wouldn't lefty it, not for anything.

* * *

Serena could not believe that she was running so late! Again! It was the second time in the one day! Her curfew at the dorm had passed two hours ago!

It wasn't that she couldn't get back into the dorm; she had her student ID on her. She had learned not to leave it behind in her first few months at the University. The problem was that the doors would be locked for the night and the only way in now was to buzz the RA who would insist on seeing her Student ID, and then Serena knew she'd have to endure the tiresome lecture – that was exactly the same every time, word for word – all the way up to her dorm room. The RA was a busy-body with an inflated sense of importance.

Serena swore that if her RA ever met the President of the United States she would be telling him exactly what she thought he was doing wrong and how to do it better, in other words, _her way_.

It was dark and midnight wasn't far off. Serena didn't like going through the park at night, especially so late at night. It wasn't safe or smart for someone like her to tempt fate. She wasn't so conceited that she thought herself beautiful or anything, but she wasn't a fool either, she owned a mirror and since hitting mid-high school had always had some male attention. She was no Mina or Lita, who was usually the centre of male attention, and for that she was glad.

But that said attention wasn't always – if ever – a good thing. It made it dangerous for her to be out alone late at night; her slim size made her an easy target.

She should have asked Lita to walk with her home but she hadn't liked the idea of Lita then being the one to walk home alone; Lita may have been able to take care of herself a lot of the time but she wasn't some female Superman.

So Serena had bid her friends goodnight and had left them, heading back to the dorm through the park alone. Stupid for her own personal safety but at least she didn't have to worry about her friends.

As dangerous as it was for her to be out late at night alone in the city, Serena loved the night and the moon; she would stare at the moon for hours, from her bedroom window, she had for as long as she could remember. The night and the moon soothed her somehow, like an enduring promise made long ago that had yet to be fulfilled; she'd never been able to explain it, not even to herself.

Pulling her coat tighter around her, Serena nudged her backpack higher onto her shoulder and kept on walking with her head down and her pace hurried. The last thing she needed was to be noticed. She was grateful that it was a cold winter's night, so she could cover up without standing out. The cold also kept others inside. She had a thick woollen scarf wrapped around her neck and face, and a beanie pulled down over her head, which kept her golden strands concealed and her thick, heavy winter coat did a great job of hiding her slim and often referred to – to her great embarrassment – as the "figure of a goddess" figure hidden.

The girls and she had spent most of the day and the evening in the library studying. Amy had suggested at sunset to call it quits, but the rest of them had reluctantly disagreed, stating that they needed to study a bit more.

And of course Amy had stayed even though the three of them had no doubt that Amy could ace all her exams – blindfolded and with both her hands tied behind her back.

Serena herself had wanted to agree with Amy, but she however had to study a lot more. She couldn't fail any of her midterms. They had eventually become so immersed in their studies that they hadn't noticed how late it was growing until the announcement over the PA system that the library would be closing in fifteen minutes, effectively alerting them to the lateness of the hour.

Serena didn't like to admit it but she wasn't so great at the college stuff, but she did try. She studied hard and did her best to maintain her grades. Unlike in high school, in which she hadn't applied herself, she now had the drive she'd been lacking in her early teenage years. She wanted to graduate and find her place in the world, even though she still felt as if she didn't belong within it.

All her life, Serena had felt as if there was something waiting for her, as if she didn't belong where she was. It was a strange sense of purpose and waiting for something to happen, and it had made her teenage years harder, but now she was trying her best to overcome it and forget it. To move passed it and find her place in life, a place where she fit and was happy.

For a time in her teenage years Serena had almost been convinced that it was destiny that was calling out to her, that she'd been born for more than the average boring life she was leading. But now she liked her life, and she wanted to feel content and at peace in it, and for the first time in her life, she was beginning to feel just that.

Serena had her three best friends whom she loved as sisters, and she was even dating – although all the guys she'd dated in the last two years had been jerks or losers. It had been two years since she'd gone on more than three dates with a single guy and even longer before she'd gone beyond second base with any of them.

Mina, Amy and Lita kept trying to set her up out of love and concern, but it never worked out with the guys they did set her up with.

Why, Serena hadn't a clue. Most of the guys had been good decent guys, a few she could have called gentlemanly, but still she hadn't been able to make the relationships last or even progress.

But her friends were always there when things didn't work out, whether she needed them or not, just as she was there for them.

They were all the family she had except for her younger brother, but she never got to see him, especially not these days while she was at University. Their parents had died in a plane crash when Serena had turned seventeen. With no immediate family, Sammy had been sent to live with a distant uncle in Utah while she had moved in with Mina for the last six months before she'd turned eighteen. Their distant uncle had only been able to take one of them.

And while Serena loved her brother very much, every time she went to see him she didn't fail to see the sadness in his eyes seeing her brought to her brother. Exactly what caused Sammy's sadness when he saw her she didn't know, but she suspected that she reminded Sammy of just what the both of them had lost.

At least they both had been given what their parents had endeavoured so hard to give them both – money for their education. The airline had paid out a large sum that they had labelled "compensation" and they'd had their parent's money that had been left to them. All up the sum was enough to put them both through University and most of the left over money had gone to their Uncle to help support Sammy.

Serena had only kept a little to kick start her savings. When she graduated, Serena intended to get her own place in which she could offer Sammy a home until he turned eighteen. That was if he wanted it.

Serena's heart swelled with sadness at the thoughts of her brother and their lost parents. They had been a happy and close family, until everything had fallen apart. Her mother had been the perfect mother, the kind that had tucked her into bed – no matter how old she had gotten she had checked on her every night before her parent's had gone to bed – had fussed over her when she'd been sick, had kicked her butt out the door when she had made a fuss over going to school and she had loved both her children as deeply as a mother ever could and she made sure they knew it. Her father had loved his children no less than his wife, but he had been the one who had grounded them when they'd done something wrong, had taught them to play sports, had built them a fort slash cubby house when they had wanted one, and when she had reached high school, her father had been the one to chase away and/or threaten any boy who had shown any interest in her in the name of protecting his little girl.

They were gone and Serena missed them with all her heart, but she'd forced herself to keep on living. It was what her parents would have wanted her to do; she wasn't happy now but one day she would be, when she had accomplished her dream of having a home of her own and maybe for her brother too.

Tears had filled her eyes, but Serena refused to let them fall. She had cried enough to last a life time; she needed to be strong and assertive now. Focused. She needed to live her life and do whatever she could to make Sammy's better.

Holding back the tears until their threat was gone Serena drew in a deep calming breath and turned her focus back to the footpath beneath her feet.

That was when Serena once again became aware of her surroundings; that was when she heard it.

A twig snapped somewhere close.

Serena's head snapped up and she hastily scanned her surroundings. She was walking along the lit footpath but other than that, all around her was darkness. There was a full moon overhead, but while standing in the light of the overhead light post as she was, it did not help visibility. While she stood in the light, dense darkness swelled around her.

Other than the wind rustling the leaves in the trees, there was no movement that she could see, but still that didn't mean anything.

Fear swelled to life within her, her heart hammering in her ears and her stomach came alive with nervous butterflies. The hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention and the feeling that she was being watched was so overwhelming that it was an effort to keep breathing. There was danger close by, she could sense it like some people could sense a coming storm before it ever showed on the horizon.

Serena focused everything she had on the darkness and silence around her. Damn it! She should have been keeping a vigilant watch on her surroundings instead of daydreaming!

Suddenly, Serena sensed something in the darkness, her alerted instincts alerting her to the fact that she was not alone, that she was being not only being watched, she was being hunted. She'd always trusted her instincts, and she'd learnt long ago not to ignore them, they kept her safe and out of danger. She couldn't explain it, but her instincts were rarely wrong.

Serena looked up and around her, but there was nothing but darkness.

Drawing in a deep breath Serena stepped forward until she was out of the circle of light from the light above, but she was careful to remain on the footpath. The last thing she needed to do was stray from the footpath that was the usual way through the park. As long as she was on the footpath then there was always the chance that someone may come along who could help her.

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust, but once they did Serena hastily scanned the seemingly deserted park, her keen eyes searching the deep shadows around her and the tree line. The tree line was far enough away to prevent anyone jumping out at her, but close enough for her to still be wary of. She saw nothing, but her senses were insistent – they were screaming at her.

Serena listened intently as she tensed, her ears straining, ready to run like the wind if she saw someone or something but again she could see nothing. She'd always been a great runner. She didn't run track or anything, mostly she'd run to school in the mornings because as a teenager she'd loved her sleep so much that she'd overslept more often than not. Still she had yet to meet anyone who could outrun her, a talent that had saved her in the past. She was also able to run at a faster pace longer than anyone else she knew.

Again, a talent that she'd perfected from all those years of doing the mad dash to school. She's run like the wind but she'd still always been late and constantly gotten detention because of it.

Cold laughter suddenly broke through the dark silence, laughter so chillingly malicious that it sent shivers up her spine. Her instincts were now screaming at her to get out of there as fast as she could, that she was in grave danger, and she was about to heed her instincts when she heard a noise come from the bushes at her back.

Serena whirled around, her instincts now screaming at her that she was surrounded, trapped. Something she couldn't stand.

Serena had always needed to be free, to feel free. She didn't like the feeling of being trapped even in the smallest sense. In fact sitting in her lectures was torture for her. Her eyes were always going to the exits to assure that they were still clear in case she had to make a run for it. The only way she ever managed to study was either in her own space in her dorm – at the window – or in the huge library that footsteps easily echoed within, even when it wasn't deserted.

She, however, felt the most at home when she was either running or alone in the night – someplace deserted and safe – with a full moon above her. That had always brought feelings of peace to her.

But right now Serena felt anything but peaceful. Dropping her bag from her shoulder, Serena moved back into the middle of the footpath directly beneath the light post and scanned the terrain and the darkness around her for the owner of the voice, but she couldn't focus on him or on the direction from which it had come, or more terrifyingly, on _them_.

What was going on?! Why couldn't she find the owner of the voice?! No one had ever been able to hide from her, not even in a pitch black room; her senses had at least always been able to tell her which direction the danger was coming from!

Something was really wrong and she was in grave danger. Her senses were clueless and her instincts screamed at her to run; only she didn't know in which direction to run. For all she knew she could end up running straight to them.

"Oh, the little bunny is scared." Laughed a menacing darkly amused voice from behind her.

Serena gasped and whirled around to see a man standing there with a menacing smirk on his thin lips and with eyes so black that they couldn't possibly belong to a human. Her eyes quickly scanned him. He was huge! At least seven feet tall and as bulky as a tree trunk, the kind that seemed to reach the sky! His skin was a deadly pale white, even with the long sandy brown hair that framed his long face, and his teeth were . . . it almost looked as if he had fangs!

But that wasn't possible, was it? Surely, she was imagining things due to her fear and the adrenaline flooding her system.

Serena couldn't help herself, she retreated a step from him. He just seemed to radiate danger that promised her death.

"Who are you?!" Serena demanded, forcing her voice to remain steady and not tremble. What was going on? She was never this afraid, but her senses screamed at her that this was no ordinary man, that he was someone who was a great danger to her.

She had to get out of there immediately!

Serena took another few steps back and gasped in surprise when she stepped back into a solid frame. She spun around and gasped at the sight of a second man who looked simular to the other, with pale skin, black eyes, built like a rhino and fang-like teeth. Only this one had dark hair that only made him seem paler than death.

Serena backed away from him, turning around halfway so that she could keep the both of them in sight.

Who were these monstrous whackos and what did they want from her?

It was hard to focus on what was happening around her when inside she was overwhelmed with dread and fear. Her heart was beating so fast that the sound was like that of a hummingbird's wing, and her hands and arms had gone cold, despite the heavy layers she wore, and she knew it wasn't due to the cold, and her stomach felt as if it was full of butterflies that were made of ice. She was either going to be sick or feint.

Maybe both.

The two pale strangers watched her retreat from them with darkly anticipating smirks on their pale white lips, watching her as if she were a tasty treat they couldn't wait to savour. It was so weird, she'd never seen a man look at her like that before, they weren't watching her with lustful hunger; rather they just looked really _hungry._

What kind of trouble had she gotten herself into?

"What do you think, Lewis?" The second asked the other, casual dark amusement evident in his tone, he might as well be commenting on the weather that he found mildly interesting. "Should we kill her now or have ourselves some fun first?"

Serena's eyes grew wide at his words and her fear became full-fledged terror as she turned her attention to the first and watched him scan her from head to toe, studying her while clearly thinking the question over.

"She _is_ a pretty little thing."

Serena slipped her backpack from her shoulder little by little, until the strap was in her hand and she tensed; her intention was to use her backpack as a weapon against them so that she would have a chance to run. It wasn't much, she only had one heavy textbook in it, but the backpack was all she had.

There was no one there to save her, there never was when a person needed it, such was the way of life; she had to save herself. She had to live, because if she died then her brother would not recover from so much loss, the loss of his entire family. He was barely hanging on as it was; it may sadden him to see her, but he still loved her. She was his sister, the last of his real family.

Serena was about to spring into action when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind in a painful steel-hard grip, gripping onto her arms so tightly that she knew he'd leave dark bruises. As she cried out in startled pain, Serena found herself being pulled back against a cold chest so hard that the air was knocked from her lungs.

Was the guy wearing body armour or was he just made of steel? Serena found the thought crossing her perplexed mind, in some corner of which she realised that she may have just been out of it a little bit; lost touch with reality kind of thing.

As Serena struggled to breath, she struggled against the third that held her, but she knew it was no use, he was far too strong.

Stronger than any normal man; he didn't seem to notice her efforts to struggle at all.

Were they on drugs? Was that why they were like this? Pale and so strong? She didn't know much about drugs, but there were those that made some people pale and physically stronger, or something, right?

Serena looked down at the hand that held her so brutally and noticed that it was as pale as the flesh of the other two.

All at once Serena knew that they were serious. They were going to kill her and they were going to do it without hesitation or mercy, and she didn't even know why.

"Please no." Serena whimpered helplessly, tears once again flooding her eyes. She knew that they really did intend to kill her and there was nothing that she could do about it. There were three of them and they were so strong.

The three of them laughed with evil anticipating pleasure at her desperate plea, they even seemed to be enjoying her obvious state of terror and her helpless pathetic pleas.

So this was her fate; to be killed by these three men in the park at night . .

No! Every survival instinct and every bit of courage, rage and determination that she possessed rose up in her like a storm of furious will. She'd never given up before and she wasn't about to start now! She'd been on her own and she'd survived ever since her parents had died. It was not going to end like this!

Acting fast and without warning – and clearly catching them off guard – Serena dropped to her knees, effectively slipping out of her coat that the man held, and slipped free from the man's hold. She then quickly rolled away from him. She had intended to jump to her feet and run, to find someplace safe, but before she could get to her feet, she sensed one of the men move to stand over her.

The tale pale man moved before Serena could react. He was suddenly beside her, pushing her down into the icy hard surface of the pavement. He then – she didn't even know which of the three it was – ruthlessly, and with greater inhuman strength, pulled her hands behind her back and held them with an unbreakable grip above her head.

The three men were laughing with dark pleasure and hungry anticipation. They were enjoying this and their anticipation at what they were going to do next was exciting them.

"My, she's a feisty one!" Laughed the man at her back, the one who was restraining her.

What did they want from her?!

Serena struggled against him, but he held her even more tightly, squeezing her flesh so hard that she cried out in pain even louder than before. If she survived this she'd be covered in large angry bruises! Hell, if his hold on her tightened anymore, he was going to break bones!

Sensing movement above her, Serena became aware of the other two men on their feet looming over her. The one who was holding her, while keeping her restrained on the ground with one hand, roughly pulled off her beanie and scarf, freeing her long golden hair and revealing her neck and shoulders.

"Well, beautiful one." The man said excitedly as he stroked the hair from her face, almost tenderly, so he had an unobstructed view of her face. "It's time to say goodnight, sweetheart."

Serena could do nothing as the large pale man above her slowly lowered his bared fangs – she couldn't wrap her mind around it, fangs! – toward her bared neck. She didn't know who in the hell he was, or _what_ in the hell he was, but she knew that she was in real deep trouble with no chance of getting out of it on her own.

Why, oh why, had she stayed at the library so late? Serena thought about her brother, what her death would do to him and she heard a sob escape her parted lips. Poor Sammy, he'd already lost so much.

Serena closed her eyes and prayed to heavens for a miracle.

_'Please, someone help me.'_

* * *

Darien scanned the mortal park, his eyes seeing through the darkness as if it were daylight. He had momentarily lost the scent as those he hunted had moved downwind and too many of the Damned had passed through the park. Parks and exercise paths – running, bike, even nature paths – were often popular hunting groups for the Damned. There were always straggling mortals that were running late and thought to take the short rout through a deserted area where predators laid in wait or exercised alone during evening or dawn hours.

Now Darien turned to his other senses.

For the last hour Darien had been hunting, as he did most nights, for any of the Damned. Unlike the uncursed of the Immortal Races, the Damned preferred to dwell in human cities which provided them with an abundance of human prey and did better to hide their tracks and their kills.

In small mortal towns, the people who went missing were for the most part, reported missing almost immediately.

This made hunting the Damned more time consuming but not more difficult. His race had almost been created to hunt and kill, even the Damned that were made up of his own kind by half. It was a very rare event that he failed to find and kill his prey, Damned or otherwise. In fact it was rare these days that he had to shift form to hunt and kill.

A few hundred metres to his right, Darien heard menacing male laughter and knew it was the Damned he'd been looking for. It seemed that they had found some prey of their own.

Doubting that he would need to shift forms to deal with these Damned, Darien turned on his heel and ran with the superhuman speed of his race in the direction of the laughter.

Another great advantage of hunting the Damned in this day and age was that they were cocky, reckless, stupid and had become lazy. Only the eldest and most experienced of the Damned gave him any challenge anymore, and even then it had been centuries since he'd had a real challenge.

Darien had become so bored with his routine of late, that he virtually hungered for a challenge this night, even if it meant his life.

Darien had long since become fed up with this life that death, in which-ever form, was welcome upon him.

It wasn't as if he had anything to live for these days. His people were dying, his duty of fighting the Damned was becoming more pointless by the year, and he had so long ago given up the hope that he would ever find his mate.

* * *

Serena screamed as sharp hot piercing pain pulsated through her as the monster of a man bit deep into the flesh of her throat. She could hear him slurping as he greedily drank and licked her blood as the other two laughed and bounced around them impatiently. He drank like her blood was the sweetest tasting thing he'd ever known, not daring to spill a single drop of the liquid that kept her alive.

The other two seemed to be waiting for their turn, and they weren't waiting patiently.

Everything in her mind told her that she was wrong, but Serena couldn't deny what she was happening right before her eyes. Despite every ounce of logic within her telling her that she was wrong, that she wasn't being attacked by _Vampires_!

But it was the only thing that fit with all the evidence. How they were so strong and fast and as pale as death! And their long gleaming pointed fangs! Not to mention that they were drinking her blood like it was water from the Fountain of Youth!

"It's my turn!" Whined one of the other two as he impatiently bounced back and forth from foot to foot. "You drained the last one, remember?"

The one drinking from her raised his head from her throat and snarled like a furious feral animal at the impatient one. "And I'll drain this one if I want too! Now shut up and let me feed, unless you want to take her place!"

Serena blinked up at him, feeling numb and disorientated. Despite everything, she couldn't help but be amused at how childish and immature they were. They were behaving exactly like every other guy she knew.

Were the vampires immortal? Just how old were they?

Laughter filled her ears, feminine laughter, and Serena found herself oddly wondering who it was that was laughing. Was there a female with them? She hadn't seen one but with the way they had surrounded her so quickly, there could have been a dozen vampires around her and she wouldn't have known it until they chose to show themselves.

Serena watched as the vampire on top of her turned his attention back to her, fury in his soulless black eyes, and he said through a heavy warning hiss, "Stop laughing!"

It wasn't until then that Serena realised that she was the one laughing. She couldn't help herself; the situation was so ridiculous. She couldn't stop herself from laughing, even though a part of her mind was telling her that she was losing it.

Enraged now that she was still laughing at him, the vampire raised his hand with the clear intention of striking her, and Serena found herself frozen in horror in the space of a heartbeat, finally able to obey.

And then the vampire feeding on her was gone.

Serena blinked in confusion as she found herself staring up into empty air as the vampire and his weight disappeared in less time than it took for her to blink.

Even the playful and impatient laughter of the other two vampires was gone.

Perplexed, and realising that she was free to do so, Serena raised her head and gasped silently in shocked incomprehension.

What the . . . ?

Rising up onto her elbows, and ignoring the sharp throbbing pain from her neck in favour of watching what was happening before her, Serena's eyes grew impossibly wide at the sight before her.

A tall man – not as tall, or as bulky, as the vampire who'd been drinking her blood – dressed in a thick black coat that ended but an inch from the ground, was standing between her and her three pale attackers. He had his back to her, and so all she could tell about him was that his hair was blacker than his coat.

The vampire – or whatever the hell he was – was crouching on the ground between the new arrival and her other two pale attackers, both of who were hunched over battle-ready like the vampires in old movies. All three were baring their pointed fang-like teeth and snarling menacingly at the tall man in black.

Who was this dark stranger? Was he with them or was he there to help her? He had pulled the vampire off of her – or at least that's what it seemed like had happened. It had happened way too fast for her eyes to see or her mind to comprehend.

Did he know what they were?

Darien ignored the young woman that the Damned had been feeding on for now. Even though the scent of her blood filled the air, swirling around him as the damning temptation that it was, he knew the injury wasn't fatal. His beast was stirring, ravenous, with the scent of fresh warm blood in the air. His beast wanted him to kill the three Damned and then finish off their meal, to savour the intoxicating taste of human flesh and life blood, but Darien ignored it and forced it down, leashing his beast so to speak, as he had always done.

But it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the beast that was growing stronger and more persistent within him with each passing month. Soon it would be only weeks and finally he would be battling against everything that he was in effort to hold on. He was close to the edge; he had run out of time to find his mate as his beast was becoming too strong within him. He had realised two years ago, that when he drew too close to the edge, when he became a threat to his pack, he would end his life by his own hand. He would rather die than become what he hunted, to risk harming his own people or the mortals he had for so long protected.

Darien forced his thoughts away from the fate that await him. He was hunting now. He had to be sharp if he wanted to kill all three Damned and save the mortal female. He had been too late to save the two mortal women the night before, but this one he could – _would_ – save.

His end was coming quickly, but he was determined to carry out his duty, killing Damned and saving innocence, until the very end.

Darien considered the three Damned, calculating, his well trained and experienced eyes sizing them up. He would start with the one he had pulled from the victim at his back. He was the biggest of the three that most likely made his the superior – he used the term lightly when it came to the lower ranking Damned – of the three.

The Damned were much younger than him, maybe only five or six hundred years between the three of them. They hadn't realised his presence until he'd revealed himself to save the mortal woman; a more experienced Damned would never have left themselves so vulnerably open to attack. Not only did they have to watch out for those that hunted them but also for other hunting packs of their kind. There was no honour, no allegiance, between the Damned – at least not in the masses, out of fear they were somewhat loyal to their king, the strongest and oldest of the Damned – another pack of hunting Damned would just as likely kill the three Damned and take their prey for themselves.

Behind him, Darien could hear the mortal woman breathing frantically but shallowly; in the back of his mind he wondered if she was going to feint. Such a behavioural trait was once common amongst mortal females, but in recent times mortal women had become stronger in their will, their character and their nature. Or maybe they had merely realised their true strength, by whatever cause, mortal women were no longer seen as the delicate useless creatures they had once been considered as. They did the work of men, earned their own way in the world, had choices and equality.

In fact, the time of the world of men had long since passed in the world of mortals. To Darien's eyes, he was beginning to realise that it was not men who truly had sway over the world anymore.

Darien forcibly pulled his focus from her and the changes of women in the mortal world. As for the mortal woman he had yet to catch her scent except for the almost overpowering odour of fresh human blood. He could hear her heartbeat; the rhythm was frantic and its beats were strong. She would live, even though the air was taunting him with the promise of hot fresh blood.

The Damned hadn't been feeding long; she would live, maybe even without medical assistance.

"How dare you, Lycaon!" The Damned who'd been feeding when Darien had intervened roared furiously through his vampiric fangs, his black eyes blazing with black fury.

Darien resisted the urge to shake his head in disgust at them. They were young and a disgrace to Immortal kind. The older of Damned and Immortal kind knew him on sight, or scent, whatever the case may have been. They would have known his age and the power in his blood even if they had not known him. As the prince of his kind, and one of the last of the Ancients of the Immortal races, his "abilities" were above those of most of the Immortals. Outside of the Immortal royal families and their courts, there were very few Ancients left. They had all succumb to their beasts or to the darkness.

But then again, there were very few Immortals left, period. The Immortal races were one the crusts of extinction. If something did not change soon the Immortal Races would not last the next half Millennia.

"You'll die for interfering!" Hissed another of the Damned, crouching with perfect stable balance as he swayed back and forth as only an Immortal could. A mortal would have fallen flat on their face should they have attempted it as the Damned Anami was.

Darien merely glared darkly at them, just daring them to attack him. He knew they would. The young lacked the patience and control; they tended to be impulsive and cocky. So he waited, silently, patiently. Ready for when they dared to attack him.

And there it was. Darien saw it as clear as day. All the young made the mistake of betraying the telltale signs of preparing to attack; the twitch of the check, the narrowing of the eyes, the tensing of their legs and the expanding of their fingers. An ability of both Immortal races was that they could turn their fingernails into claws, with a mere thought, that could tear through cars like tissue paper.

The Damned were preparing to do just that with the intention of tearing into his flesh.

The Damned who'd been feeding, the dominant of the three, gave a vicious snarling roar and lunged at him.

Darien allowed a small grin of dark deadly anticipation to take hold of his lips as the Damned approached at the speed of sound with his fangs bared and his claw-like nails extended like daggers.

Darien waited until the absolute last possible moment before he, with speed that was beyond these Damned, threw his upper body to the right and out of the way of the attack of the Damned. At the same time, Darien brought his arm up and wrapped it around the throat of the attacking Damned when he would have otherwise flown straight passed him.

Using his superior strength, Darien hauled the Damned he'd capture backwards against him while he willed his fingernails to extend into claws on his left hand. With a powerful thrust upwards, the sharp claws pierced the flesh and bone of the Damned of his back, until he pierced the heart from behind, severing the spinal cord in the same motion.

There were only two ways to kill an Immortal – three if he included sun exposure for the Anami, but they had to be in the high sun for several minutes before they were weakened and burned to death – that was either decapitation or injuring the heart until it could no longer continue to beat and so that it could not regenerate. For one who was trained and had the know-how, it wasn't too difficult.

Darien was a Lycaon, which meant that he could take the form of a wolf – a large one, bigger than the typical sized mortal car – or the form of a human. He was strongest in his wolf form. He was also able to call upon minute changes in his human form, such as turn his fingernails into the claws of his wolf form.

Darien felt the life fade from the Damned he held and he wretched his hand from the back of the Damned and allowed the body to fall limply to the ground at his feet. He hand was drenched and dripping with the black blood of the Damned vampire.

Unlike mortal myths, Anami nor Lycaon turned to ashes when they died. The Anami or the Damned would burst into flame if in the sun too long, but that required several minutes of direct midday or afternoon sunlight exposure. It was rare for one to remain in the light of day for that long; mainly it was the most efficient way for an Anami to commit suicide.

Darien turned his attention back to the remaining two Damned, who now possessed the appropriate level of trepidation and wariness in their black eyes. All three Damned were Anami, which was fortunate. An untrained unaware vampire was easier to kill than a Damned Lycaon as they tended to make a much greater racket.

They were going to run, Darien could see it in their black eyes and he could not allow that. Every Damned he came across was his to dispose of. He could not let one live if he had a choice in the matter.

With a mere thought, Darien willed his claws to retract and return to human fingernails. He reached inside his coat with his right unbloodied hand and pulled out a small silver dagger. Silver was another human myth, it did not cause any harm to an Immortal, but it was used because it was a strong and long lasting metal.

The two remaining Damned took a fearful retreating step from him. They could take a hundred retreating steps from him, they would never escape him. He had their scent now, and even though a scent could be masked, they did not have the time, nor the know-how, to do so.

"Who are you?" Asked the smaller of the two remaining Damned.

Darien looked into the dark eyes of the Damned and for not the first time, wondered if there was truly anything left of his former self within him. He had always wondered but had never asked. They wouldn't have given him a truthful answer anyway.

But tonight Darien would answer them.

"I am the scourge of the Damned." Darien tightened his told on his dagger. "I am your death."

And with those words, Darien attacked before they had the chance to even attempt to flee. With deadly accurate aim, Darien threw the dagger at the smaller of the two with less than all his strength and charged at the other. No mortal had the strength to pierce the flesh of an Immortal, Animi, Lycaon or Damned alike, and neither could any weapon the mortals could forge. The only reason a weapon like daggers and swords were effective was because of the Immortal superhuman hand that held them and the force and strength with which they were wielded.

With an agonised horrified cry, the smaller fell to the ground with the silver dagger protruding from his chest, embedded to the hilt. It had pierced the dead centre of his heart.

With a fearful cry the remaining Damned screamed for his life and shrank back even as Darien took hold of his head in both hands and violently snapped his neck and continuing until, with a spray of black blood that Darien expertly avoided, the head came completely detached from the body.

Darien kicked the headless body so that it landed over the body of the other fallen Damned. Dropping the head into the lap of its previous owner, he then pulled his dagger from the chest of the other Damned and with a flick of his wrist wiped it clean on the Damned's shirt.

Behind him the innocent mortal female whimpered in terror, but Darien had one more thing he had to do before he could see to her.

He fought like a fierce warrior from some supernatural horror movie! Serena couldn't move. All she could do was stare into the back of the dark stranger who had just killed all three of the vampire thingy's in a matter of seconds. She hadn't even seen his face yet! The vampires hadn't stood a chance. He'd moved so fast that she hadn't been able to even see him move. He was so skilful and fast that none of the vampires had been able to lay a hand on him.

Serena watched helplessly, motionlessly, as the dark stranger, who'd just saved her life, picked up the body of the one who'd been drinking her blood and threw the body on top of the bodies of the other two. She hadn't been able to see how he'd killed them, and she was trying very hard not to look at the bodies, but he had done so without fault.

He moved with such silent stealth and agility and grace that he didn't seem human. He made no sound when he moved and he showed such strength and speed! He moved the bodies with a single hand with such ease, as if they were merely hollow foam dummies!

A metallic click pierced the silence and a moment later flames leapt into life from where the bodies of the three vampire things had been piled.

It took Serena another long moment before she realised that he was burning the bodies. She could feel the warmth of the dancing flames on her cold face. It wasn't until then that she realised that she was still laying on the icy pavement with her scarf gone and her shirt pulled to the side while her own blood continue to trickle from the two puncture wounds in her neck.

Slowly, while never taking her eyes from the dark stranger, Serena timidly rose to her feet, unable to remain on the ground a moment longer. If this dark stranger was a threat to her, she was damned sure going to at least try to make a run for it even though she knew after all she'd seen that she wasn't going to make it far. She would be lucky to make it two steps before he caught her.

Sensing – as well as hearing the rustling of clothing – the mortal woman rise to her feet, Darien sighed heavily. Now it was time to face another terrified traumatized victim. If he had any luck at all, she'd be in shock and wouldn't remember anything in the morning.

At least he didn't have to watch this one die, or worse have to put her out of her misery himself. He always knew when a victim could be helped and when it was more merciful to end their suffering rather than let them live their last few agonising hours in a hospital surrounded by doctors unable to save them, but futilely trying regardless.

It was never any easier to face the victims, whether they lived or not.

With another heavy sigh, and the need to get it over with as soon as possible, Darien slowly turned to face her and his eyes grew wide. His breath caught in his throat and his heart was pounding loudly in his ears. For the first time in centuries, he _felt_ something, other than his beast, stir within him.

Before him was the most beautiful woman Darien had ever seen in all his millennia, mortal or Immortal. She stood there with her beautiful sparkling soft blue – and wide – eyes staring into him like angels did in mortal legends. It felt as if she were staring straight through him, into his tattered tarnished wreck of soul and seeing him for everything that he was. Her hair moved slowly in the wind around her, her beautiful golden hair flowed around her like golden sunlight. Artificial light from above her seemed to float like still liquid on her and gave the illusion that her milky flawless skin was glowing celestially. She was so petite, so small and tiny, even draped in thick layers to keep her warm from the winter cold, that she was the most fragile looking creature he had seen outside of a cradle.

Darien couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn't even remember his own name. She had somehow captured him in that one look, just by her presence. There was nothing else in the world but her. Instincts he hadn't known in so many centuries flared to life inside of him like a supernova. They were so strong and so many that he couldn't even put a name to one of them.

What was happening to him?

Darien took an unsteady step towards her, needing to find out more. Needing to _feel_ more. For so long he hadn't felt anything outside of the hunt and his hunger; with one look upon her more emotions than he could remember ever feeling came to life within him.

As he moved towards her, Darien watched as her eyes grew wide with fear and she shrank back from him.

Darien immediately – but slowly – raised his hands in a non-threatening comforting gesture, as if he were surrendering to her. The last thing he wished was for her to fear him, to retreat from him. He wanted her to stay, to remain with him for always. He wanted to protect and shield her form the dangers of the world. He wanted to lay his kill at her feet, the most submissive act of his race. It was something a male only did for his mate. It was a sign of complete and utter submission.

Darien could not understand it. Why did he have an almost choking need to protect this mortal woman? He had seen so many mortal women, even women of his own kind, killed before his eyes – never had he killed one intentionally by his own hand unless it was for a merciful death or a Damned female, that were extremely rare or that one mistake so long ago – and it had stopped affecting him long ago. For near a thousand years he had been numb by all the death, even the deaths of those close to him. But he had to protect this one; he had to keep her safe. No matter what it cost him.

"It's alright, little one." Darien told her, his voice as smoothing and as calm as he could make it. "I mean you no harm."

She was hesitant, terrified. It seemed beyond her to even utter a sound. He needed her to speak to him, to assure him that she wasn't gravely harmed even though his senses told him she wasn't.

The wind shifted direction and the scent of human blood filled his nostrils, only this time it didn't stir the beast within him as it had always done. This time the beast screamed at him to take away her pain instead of taking her life's blood and eat her still-warm flesh.

"You're injured." Darien told her, taking a slow exaggerated step towards her as he indicated at her throat where blood still flowed from her tiny body.

Fear flashed in her eyes once again but she made no move to retreat from him again. Darien took this as a positive sign.

"May I see?" He asked as he took yet another slow over-exaggerated step towards her. "I promise. I only wish to help you. I will not harm you."

Serena knew she should run, that she should get as far away from the dark stranger who had just slain three vampires without breaking a sweat, but for some reason she just couldn't bring herself to leave him. There was something about him that called her to him and it wasn't just that he was the most handsome man – or whatever – she'd ever seen in her entire life! It was something deeper, something much more primal and carnal.

The dark stranger had hair darker than the dead of night, locks of his blacker than black hair caressed his forehead and framed his eyes from above. He had dark blue eyes that she could have drowned in, eyes that reminded her of a night sky filled with millions upon millions of twinkling stars. He was tall and broad in a way that wasn't overly so, but she knew by her own sight that he was far stronger than he seemed. Beneath his shirt he had to at the very least be soundly muscled. His legs were those of a runner, steady and long. With his handsome face, steadily built body, lithe stride and fluid grace, this was a being that was, without _any_ doubt, hell on the female population of the earth.

He was walking towards her so slowly, so carefully, that he seemed afraid that one sudden move would startle her and frighten her into bolting like some panicky flighty rabbit. If only she had the coherency to tell him that she couldn't run even though she wanted too. Her mind and her instincts screamed at her too, but her mind had lost communication with her body, and to top it off there was something about him that made her not want to run. That made her want to stay.

Serena gasped silently as he closed the last step of space separating them and he was there. His intoxicating scent filled her senses and the world started to spin around her. He smelt of blood, the deep woods and of raw sex! Jesus! As if she wasn't attracted to him enough – which was ludicrous in the current situation but she was – now his smell had hit her like some concentrated form of potent pheromones.

That settled it. She had completely lost it.

Her scent was the most intoxicating thing Darien had ever known and he'd been around the females of his kind when they'd been in heat since he was born all those centuries ago. She smelt so sweet and enticing that his mouth filled with saliva. Her scent was sunlight, vanilla, milk and honey all mixed into one, her scent was everything pure in this world, everything he was unworthy of.

Darien wanted to taste her so badly that he feared he would soon start drooling, but it was not her blood or her raw flesh that he hungered for. He wanted to taste her skin, her mouth, her sex. He wanted to taste every inch of her, to know and possess and brand every inch of her as his.

Her scent made him think of sunrises and wild passionate out-of-control mating, and it was forever more imprinted into his memory. He would always know her scent now, even if all the worlds scents were pulled together in one place, he would always know hers, always be able to follow it to her.

What's more, his libido suddenly flared into life with a passionate fury such as he had never known. He wanted her spread wet and wiling beneath him more than he'd ever wanted anything in his long immortal life. He wanted her, all of her. Everything that she was. He wanted to lay his kill at her feet; he wanted to run free through the woods with her, to hear her laughter. He wanted her to stay with him forever.

But Darien forced all of that away, for the moment. She was hurt, bleeding, and right now taking away her pain, healing her injury was more important to him than his own life, even more important than his family and his pack.

"Don't move." Darien commanded her gently, as he leaned down over her and took a gentle but firm hold of her shoulder to keep her still. The scent of her blood overpowered him, but again he did not want to drain her life's blood, he only wanted a taste, to only take as much as she could safely give, so that he would know her taste, so her taste would always be as deeply imbedded in his memory as her scent now was.

Darien lowered his mouth to her neck where the two fangs of the now deceased Damned had punctured the delicate soft flesh of her neck. Two steady streams of blood, which flowed from her torn punctured flesh, trickled down her shoulder and disappeared beneath her shirt.

Violent urges, also such as which Darien had never known, flared within him. He wanted to bring back the bastard that had bitten her and kill him again in the slowest, most painful way that he was capable of inflicting.

But he couldn't, not even he, the Lycaon Prince, could restore life once taken; so he would settle for healing the wound inflicted, for taking away her pain. Darien forced down the violent urges and instead slowly caressed the wound with his tongue.

Unlike the Anami, his kind had the added ability of healing saliva. Licking her wounds, they would heal at an accelerated rate. The healing could take as little as a matter of seconds, minutes and sometimes hours. It depended on the severity of the injury and the amount of saliva given.

The moment the taste of her hit his tongue, the taste of her blood and flesh, Darien knew without a doubt in him. He knew it to the deepest depths of his soul; he knew it was surely as he knew anything else.

Beneath his tongue Darien felt the two puncture wounds in her soft flesh close and seal themselves, the streams of blood no longer flowing.

This small young and innocent mortal – and he knew she was mortal without doubt, her taste, her scent, her heartbeat, everything supported and proved the fact – was his destined soulmate. His wolfmate. This was the woman who could soothe the beast within him, who could bring light and hope to him.

This mortal woman was his one chance at salvation.


	4. Chapter 2 Girls Night Out

**Happy Days, chapter 2 found its way online much sooner than I expected - the same day. Yay!**

**I love all comments, reviews and queries, so as always feel free!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Girls Night Out**

* * *

Serena froze like she'd been turned to stone at the feeling of the dark stranger's tongue tenderly caressing her flesh, licking the bite marks and the blood on her neck. He was licking her like a dog would lick a wound.

And there it was. Finally things had become too weird for her. Unable to stand it anymore – and not because this raw sex on legs of a man was arousing her something drastic – Serena planted her hands on his – tempered-steel hard! – chest and pushed away from him, desperately trying to get him away from her and to get away from him. She needed to be capable of thought again; and not the kind that lead to the closest available bed.

But he was so strong! Serena wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't even noticed her frantic struggles against him.

However, he licked her throat twice more – oh god! That felt so gooooood! – and raised his head, but he made no move to step away from her. Instead he studied her throat for a brief moment and only then did he release her, allowing her to jump back from him as he watched her with the most intense watchful deep blue eyes she'd ever seen. There was something else in those eyes, something so intense that it was freaking her out, but she couldn't for the life of her name it. It was different than any look she had ever seen before.

Damn it! Serena cursed at herself, she had to stop this and pull herself together! This guy was dangerous and to top it off, after licking her neck like that, it was completely clear that he was a nutcase!

But then again, she was seeing vampires, so who was she to judge?

"What is your name, little one?" He asked so softly that his words alone felt like a caress to her ears.

_Little one?_ Who was this guy?!

Serena backed up a step, watching him as he watched her. He seemed to be watching and waiting her for to show any sign that she was going to bolt. It was clear that he wasn't going to let her, not with the way he was attentively watching her.

Serena knew she should be afraid of him, but she wasn't. He'd just killed three vampire thingy's before her eyes in a matter of seconds. He had moved with inhuman speed, strength and agility. And to top it all off, he was nuts!

She should be afraid of him!

Yeah, Serena told herself with a mental eye roll. She just had to keep telling herself that, maybe eventually she'd start believing it. As it was, right now all she wanted to do was rip all their clothes off and jump him like a bitch in heat.

Darien inhaled discreetly; he could see that she was, as the mortals would say, freaked out. Her scent was a combination of blood, fear and arousal. Good, while her mind had no idea what was going on, her body recognised him for what he truly was; her mate.

Darien could not understand this; never in the recorded history of the Immortal races had either the Lycaons or the Anami been mated with a mortal, or outside of their own race. Crossbreeding wasn't possible with between the Immortal races and certainly not with mortals; they died.

Always, there had never been any exceptions.

And yet, Darien didn't doubt that this small mortal creature was his wolfmate. She was his light, his hope. She was light and fair where he was dark; she was soft and gentle where he was hard with lean muscle.

Darien wanted to take her back to his manor, to his pack, where she would be protected with the full might of his pack, but he could smell her fear and he wouldn't – couldn't – put her through anything more tonight. It seemed that this was one situation he would have to handle delicately.

Against every instinct, every fibre of his being, Darien made his decision.

It was easily the hardest thing he had ever had to do, but he did it; he took a small retreating step back from her.

It was for her. It was not about him anymore. From this day on it was about her and what was best for her. He would bow to her every whim, her health and safety would come before all else. What she needed she would always have before she needed it, what she wanted would be laid at her feet. She was his everything, and she gave him everything in return just by being. He would live and die for her, his wolfmate.

Serena didn't understand why the dark stranger had suddenly backed off from her but she was grateful for it, despite the lurch her heart gave at watching him step away from her. She looked up into his soulful intense eyes and found herself lacking understanding. The way he was looking at her was so intense, so primal, so penetrating. It was as if he was trying to see through her, into her. Like he wanted to read what was in her very soul and memorise it.

Serena could say with absolute certainty that no one had ever looked at her like that before. Ever.

"Go home."

His tone and dark hard eyes told her that it wasn't a suggestion.

Serena closed her eyes for a brief moment, needing a moment free of his intense and penetrating gaze.

Whoever he was, he had saved her and he seemed to mean her no harm. Yes, he had licked her neck like a dog cleaning a wound, and that had been _really_ weird, but he hadn't hurt her. He frightened her, he towered over her, intimidating her with all his raw masculine sexuality and his forceful overpowering presence; he made her want to jump him, and be damned with the consequences, but he had done nothing to reveal any intent to harm her. In fact, he seemed to be concerned with her wellbeing. The least she could do was thank him.

No more than a second or two had passed since Serena had closed her eyes. Slowly she opened them, the words to thank him ready on her lips. He had saved her; a thankyou was the least he deserved from her.

But he was gone.

Serena whirled around on the spot, scanning the darkness around her, but there was nothing but silence and darkness. Everything was silent and still, the only evidence that he had existed at all was the fire now at her back, from which the stench to burning flesh stung her eyes and burned her nose.

Where had he gone? Why had he left?

Now that Serena was alone her fear returned in force. She was alone in the middle of the night. She never should have walked through the park alone at night.

Gravely unsettled and more than somewhat rattled, Serena snatched up her backpack and her scarf and beanie from the ground and took off down the footpath. She wanted to get home and shower. She wanted to wash off what had happened and forget that it ever happened.

To forget him.

Unfortunately, Serena knew that the dark stranger would not be so easily forgotten.

* * *

Darien watched silently, in his wolf form, from the darkness as the young mortal woman, his wolfmate, closed the door of her dorm complex behind her. He heard the echoing metallic sound of the deadbolt click into place.

She was home. She was safe. Well, as safe as she could be away from him.

Darien had not let her from his sight for a single moment since he had disappeared from her sight. He had followed her closely, without making a single sound, all the way home. She had fled from the site of her attack as he'd known she would, like the hounds of hell were on her tail. He had endured the distinctive trace of fear and arousal mixed in her scent the entire way.

But his wolfmate had never before in her life been safer. Darien had used all his senses to assure that no one and nothing had even come close to her. He had worried for a brief moment when he had caught scent of a Damned who had crossed the path hours before, but he had recognised the scent as belonging to one of the three Damned he had killed scarcely fifteen minutes before.

The Damned who had harmed her, who had tasted her blood, was fortunate that he had died before Darien had discovered that this mortal young woman was his wolfmate, or else the Damned would have faced a far worse fate than death. Even now his beast screamed for a greater vengeance against the one who had dared to harm his mate.

That demand from his beast was nothing however compared to the loudest demand of all and that was to snatch the young mortal woman up, take her home with him and claim her as his wolfmate. To mark her as his so the entire world would know that she was his and that to even look upon her without his consent meant certain death.

But for now Darien would give her time – very little of it – to overcome the trauma that she had endured this night. He would watch over her for every moment of the last of her time in the mortal world. Soon he would bring her into his world, where she belonged. Where she had been born to reside.

This mortal was his wolfmate and he had waited an eternity for her. He was not going to do anything to risk losing her now. She possessed everything he needed to pull away from the madness his beast created within him. Already the mere sight and a single taste of her had eased the burden that was his beast. Already there was new hope sparkling to life within him, the flame was small but it was so much more than the dying ember it had been when the moon had risen this very night's dawning.

His beast would soon be tamed and at peace. His days of restlessness and dark burdens would soon be at an end.

All because of her.

Of course, he was no fool. The moment Darien had realised that his wolfmate was mortal he had known two things. Firstly, unlike the immortal mates of his kind, his time with her would be short-lasting and secondly, if his mate was mortal, then maybe she would be reason for new hope for more than just himself.

Maybe, just maybe, this special mortal who was his mate would bring new hope to all Immortal kind. Hope that had not been known in millennia.

Darien looked up at the second floor, his hearing telling him that his mate had just entered her dorm room and had bolted the door behind her. He watched the two windows that he knew where hers and just as he had almost known that she would, she came to the window and searched the darkness beyond. Fear in her watchful eyes.

_'Fear not, my little one.'_ Darien whispered to her in his mind as he gazed upon her beauty from where his black wolf form sat hidden in the darkness of night. _'I will take away all reason you have to fear. I will keep you safe. You are mine. And soon you will know it.'_

Darien kept his eyes fixed on the window even when she retreated back into the safety of her dorm room. The mortal did not know it but her life had changed forever this night.

For the first time in centuries, as Darien lowered onto his hunches and brought his belly down to rest on the cold earth, he knew a sense of peace and hope within him. Nestled and well hidden in the bushes Darien remained, his eyes unmoving from the window, until the dawn brought the retreat of the cloaking cover of night.

While his mate was still sleeping soundly in her bed, Darien cast one last longing glance at the window before he retreated from the bushes, heading to the forest as the first rays of dawn touched the ground.

He had to return to his pack. The sun would cause him no harm, but he needed to rest if he was going to return to watch over her when the sun set once again. His mate would be safe during the daylight hours as it was exceptionally rare for any Damned Immortal to venture out into the sunlight, whether they be Anami or Lycaon.

_'Soon, my little one. Soon.'_

* * *

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, DARIEN?!"

The furious screech of the Lycaon Princess echoed through the manor and the surrounding grounds that the moment before had been silent and peaceful.

Darien winced as he faced his younger sister's fury. As the crowned Lycaon Prince and future king there were only three who could get away with addressing him so insolently, and they were all related to him.

Although Darien sometimes found his sister's worry for him endearing, he more often than not found it annoying. He was not only prince, but he was the Alpha of his pack. He answered to no one. He was the eldest and the strongest in his pack and he could take care of himself. He did as he wished and answered to no one about it.

Darien, in his human form, growled at her in warning as he walked casually passed her, leaving her standing in the main doorway glowering wrathfully at his retreating back.

The sun was well above the horizon. Granted, he usually returned from hunting by sunrise, Darien was not under a curfew. He had left his most trusted warriors here, his Beta's. His pack had been well guarded in his absence.

Although the numbers of his pack were not as they had once been, there were more than enough to defend their den and their immediate territory. A four story mansion on well maintained grounds in the middle of a five hundred hectare estate that was all woods and forestry that teamed with deer and other game was a suitable home for his pack. There were even two large lakes that were plenty with fish. His pack, the second largest pack in the world after his parent's in England, was made up of over forty of his kind. A thousand years ago his pack would have been considered tiny, but now it was one of only three Lycaon packs in the US.

Including Darien's pack, there was no more than one hundred Lycaons in the US. In England, their homeland, there were slightly more than three hundred, and there was less than seven hundred Lycaons spread throughout the rest of the world.

There were even less Anami. The Immortals were a dying people.

"Do you have any idea how worried we've been?!" Rei demanded hotly as she stalked after him like the infuriated Princess she was.

Darien refused to even slow his pace as she stalked after him. By 'we' he assumed that she meant herself and his Beta's.

Normally, Darien would have either growled at her again, warning her to leave him be, or he would have told her that he was fine just to get her off his back, but tonight he did neither. He was in too much of a good mood and too preoccupied to be worried about her nerves that were strained for him.

Tonight Darien chose to ignore his younger sister. He was still as overprotective and caring of her as he had always been, but he had more than the females of his pack to protect now. His sister and the other few females of the pack were Lycaon kind, although they were much physically weaker than male Lycaons, they were still Immortal shape shifters. To a degree they could take care of themselves and if they couldn't then there were plenty other males in his pack to see to them.

Right now, for the sake of all his Lycaon kind, he had to focus on his mate. She was not only his renewed hope, but that for his kind. Maybe even the Anami as well.

If there was one mortal mated to an Immortal, could it be possible that there were more? And if there were, how did he find them?

His mate hadn't tasted any different – other than that she was his mate and her scent was like a drug to him; to which he was completely and utterly addicted – from any other mortal. There had been nothing different about her when it came to her being mortal.

"Are you listening to me, Darien?!"

Darien came free of his thoughts just in time to bring himself to a halt before he walked straight into his sister, who stood with her hands on her hips in front of him, silently fuming and impatiently waiting for an wanted to assure his sister that everything was far better than it had ever been, to share in the joyous news that he had finally found his wolfmate at long last, but he couldn't. Not yet. First he had to somehow convince his wolfmate of who and what she was and her importance and proper place in his world. Then he had to convince her to come back to the manor with him where she would be safe.

He had to worry about his mate now, his pack was more than capable of taking care of it's self for a few days. Darien had three Beta's for a reason, and his sister even tended to a number of duties within the pack herself.

Since Darien had been so long without a mate, Rei had been looked too as the Alpha female Lycaon; she was the princess of the Lycaon kind after all.

Now that he had found his mate, Rei would be stepping down – not that she knew it yet. His mate was the rightful female Alpha of his pack and she would be treated and seen as such. She _would_ be such, mortal or not.

"Not now, Rei." Darien told her dismissively as he smoothly stepped around her and continued on his way to his bed chamber. He needed to sleep and rest so that he was alert and ready for tonight. His plan was to watch over his mate for a few days and find out everything he could about her.

While he waited for the perfect time to approach her once again.

Rei stared after her brother, bewildered and worried.

What had gotten into the Alpha prince?

* * *

Serena opened her eyes and bolted up in her bed with a start, scanning the room quickly, expecting to see the dark stranger standing at the foot of the bed, staring down at her with his dark intensely penetrating eyes.

Serena blinked in confusion, feeling numbly detached. She had dreamed of vampires with black eyes and the mysterious handsome dark stranger who'd moved like one of them, but he'd been different from them. He had been her dark saviour.

Had it all been just a dream?

Throwing aside her heavy winter covers, Serena jumped up from the bed and ran to the bathroom vanity and looked into the mirror. The reflection in the mirror showed a very pale young woman with dishevelled long golden hair in a baby pink pyjama top. She was pale, much paler than she'd been since that dark few months in which she'd lost herself to mourning her parents.

Slowly, hesitantly, afraid of what she was going to find, Serena pulled her hair back from her shoulder and moved her gaze from her pale face to her neck.

There was no bite wound, but then again there hadn't been. She could vaguely remember getting back to her room last night and checking the wound but it hadn't needed any medical attention at all. Everything from the night before was blurry and surreal, as if it had all been a dream.

But even though there was no wound on her neck, there was a red mark in the exact spot where she'd been bitten. Now it looked like a fresh hicky.

Numbly, Serena caressed the pink spot on her neck, relieved when she felt no pain.

_Had_ it been nothing but a dream? She wanted so desperately to believe that it had all just been a nightmare, that vampires didn't exist, as she'd believed since she'd been old enough to realise that there were no monsters hiding under her bed. But at the same time, if it had all been a dream, if the vampires didn't exist, then neither did the dark stranger who had saved her and that bothered her.

Serena could remember him clearer than anything else. She didn't know this man, or anything about him other than that he was so strong and could move so fast that she hadn't been able to actually _see_ him move, but there was been something about the way he had looked at her. There had been sadness and loneliness in his eyes. She had seen it as she knew it herself. For so long she had seen it in her own eyes after she had lost her parents and her life as it had been. There had also been something else in his eyes, something that had almost come to life when he'd looked at her.

Hope, maybe?

Hope for what?

Serena closed her eyes and played the memory of that moment slowly through her mind, seeing it as clearly as if it were just now happening. After he'd killed the three vampires, he'd turned and looked at her. His eyes had widened, and the sad lonely hollowness in his eyes had changed.

Just like that, everything in his eyes had changed.

A spark of light had come into his eyes, the kind that came to the eyes of one who suddenly had reason to hope again, and then there had been confusion, as if her very existence mystified him.

And then the fierce handsome warrior, who'd killed the three vampires that had attacked in a matter of seconds, had morphed into a man who cared for the one he was looking at. He had become gentle, considerate and concerned.

And he had been; he had been _concerned_ that she was hurt. He had _licked_ the wound just as a dog would tend to his own wounds. She could still feel his tongue's gentle caress on her skin, and the reactions her body had had at his touch. She had felt so aware of him – aroused – that she hadn't been able to move or do anything as he had lapped up her blood as a kitten would spilt cream.

And just like that, without any warning, he had released her.

Now that Serena looked back, the way he'd looked at her after he'd raised his head had been like that of a lover sending his woman off for the night. He had withdrawn slightly from her, that had been evident, but he hadn't been able to his the protective possessive concern in his eyes.

Serena opened her eyes and took a step back from her reflection almost in fear, and she slowly sank down to sit on the closed toilet seat, suddenly not having the strength to remain standing.

How the hell was she so attuned to someone she had met for an impossible brief moment? Who the hell was the dark stranger who had saved her from the _vampires_?!

No. It had to have been a dream. There was no such thing as vampires or dark handsome men who fought impossible battles with impossible ability to save her.

It had just been a dream from all the stress from her upcoming midterms. She was obviously far more worried about them than she thought. What she needed was a stress-free day to relax, to take a break. She had studied hard yesterday and her stress was starting to have an affect her. She needed to get her mind off of things before her stress – and her dreams – started to have serious affects her. She needed her sleep, she needed to be awake and alert for her study and her midterms.

She had worked too hard to lose everything now by failing her midterms.

Serena slowly stepped out of the bathroom and walked to the window that overlooked dense lush green gardens below. The sun was just beginning to peak out from behind the four story building across the dorm.

The dream was over now. She needed to forget about it and take some time to relax. There was no such thing as vampires and dark strangers who leapt in to save damsels in distress like some storybook knight in shining armour.

No matter how much she wished her knight in shining armour was real, just like in books and movie's, he was just too good to be true.

* * *

Despite her resolve to forget all about her dream and relax, Serena found that she couldn't let go of her tension or the uneasy feeling in her that was making her edgy and paranoid, jumping at every shadow or unexpected noise.

Serena had tried to get her mind off of things by going shopping. She needed a new pair of runners and she'd decided that today was the day to get them. She'd called the girls, but as she'd known, they'd all been busy with classes, assignments and their studies. They had expressed their genuine reluctance to turn down the invitation to go shopping for the sake of their studies, and Serena had assured them that it was alright. She had assured each and everyone one of her three best friends that they could go shopping when midterms were all over.

Serena loved her friends and so for their sakes, she hadn't let on that anything was wrong, even though each of them had picked up something in her tone. She had dismissed it as a restless night from a bad dream and had laughed it off.

But once Serena hung up from her call to Lita, the last of the three girls she had invited shopping with her, the uneasiness and sense of detachment from her own life had returned and she decided that she really did need to get out. She had gone shopping, had brought her runners, as well as a sweater that had been on sale.

Serena had been done shopping by early afternoon and had found herself left with nothing to do, nothing to distract her from the intolerable nagging inside her that she didn't belong here anymore.

Finally, by four in the afternoon, Serena had found herself standing in the middle of the park, on the footpath where her dream had taken place. If it had been real, then this was where it had happened.

The park was the same as it always was during the day. People walked along the paths, either to get to their destination or for exercise or relaxation; some where in groups as large as seven or eight, and some only in groups of two or three, talking quietly amongst themselves. The larger groups were louder, more excited, while the smaller groups were much more subdued. The groups of two were mostly couples, some even appearing smitten with each other as they walked close together and whispered endearments to each other as they walked leisurely through the park. Some simply held hands while others had arms wrapped around each other so tightly that it liked like they would need a crowbar to get separated again.

The night before had been cold, but it had warmed somewhat during the sunny day, although the wind remained icy, but that hadn't stopped people from venturing out for more than a walk. All around her there were people on picnics, people playing various games and sports. People were laughing and talking just like any other day.

But it felt anything just any normal day to her; in fact it felt so different that it had before that it almost felt as if she didn't belong here in this kind of lifeanymore.

Serena forced the ridiculous thought from her mind. Of course she belonged here. It was the University park and she'd been part of the university life for nearly two years. She hadn't felt as if she didn't belong here since her first week had ended.

Serena pulled her attention from the people around her, despite her feelings of uneasy paranoia that she couldn't shake. She was safe here, at least during the day. There were too many people around; she would be alright as long as she got back to the dorm before nightfall.

Needing to know without doubt that the memory had been exactly what she wanted to believe it was, a dream, Serena scanned the ground around her until she was certain that it was the exact spot she was looking for.

Crouching down, Serena ran her fingers over the unmarred grass, feeling disconnected and really confused.

This was the sight of the attack, or it had been in her dream anyway, and where she crouched was where her dark saviour had piled the three bodies of the slain vampires and set fire to them.

But there were no scorch marks, no seared footpath, no black cinders or ash, no singed grass, not even the lingering smell of burning flesh. There was no evidence that anything at all had happened here.

If three bodies had been burned to cinders here, then there _would _be _some_ evidence of the fire. It was completely impossible to wipe all evidence away as if it had never been at all. Fire was something that all trace of couldn't easily be removed.

Serena looked up and scanned the park, feeling more uneasy than she had before she had come here.

Something wasn't right. If it had been a dream, then why did she have a mark in the exact place she had been bitten, but if it had been real, then there should have been some evidence here, something left behind.

Had she dreamed it all or not?

* * *

**2 Days Later . . .**

Rei watched silently from the window of her bed chamber on the top floor of the mansion as her brother, in wolf form, lithely leapt clear over the tall stone wall, returning to the manor's inner grounds. For the past three nights her brother had gone out alone and hadn't returned until well after sunrise. It wasn't that his hours were so out of the ordinary, it was that she knew he wasn't hunting, food or the Damned. At least not in the last few nights.

Death and blood were two scents their people knew well, and up until now it had always been the most potent scent around her brother, but the last death near him had been three days ago. So either he was hunting without finding a kill or he wasn't hunting at all.

If it was that their Alpha wasn't finding any Damned then Rei knew her brother well enough to know that he'd be irritable and uneasy as the number of Damned was increasing with each passing year, but her brother was the opposite. Darien almost seemed . . . content.

Rei had wished wholeheartedly for so long for her brother to be so, but she now feared what was making her brother so content.

For centuries Darien had visibly been battling with the beast within him, and now that battle seemed to be no more. There were only two ways his inner battle could have ended, either his beast had finally claimed him and he had descended into madness, into Damnation – but was hiding it extraordinarily well – or he had found his wolfmate.

But for some reason, neither of those options seemed plausible. If his beast had overrun the man within, then he would return carrying the unmistakable scent of fresh human blood on him. If he had found his mate, why had he not brought her back to the safety of the pack? Why had he not shouted it from the rooftops that he had at last found the one who would bring peace to him and soothe the restless beast within?

And what's more, Rei knew every unattached female Lycaon in the United States – and there weren't many – and after a few hours of investigating she had discovered that none of them had been claimed. Hell, she had even gone as far as to find out if any females had entered the territory from another continent, but there had been none.

Every female of their race was accounted for and where she should be. With so few unmated female Lycaons in the world, they were all kept track of with extreme efficiently and vigilance. Loosing even one female could make the difference between extinction and their race holding on for another century.

Rei herself was the female Alpha of the pack, not to mention the princess of their kind, and as such she had certain authorities. Any new female in the area was obliged to answer her call, rogue or not.

And, on top of it all, they would have been able to scent a female of their kind on their Alpha.

It wasn't adding up. Why was her brother being so secretive? He was practically sneaking away from his own pack. He'd even closed his mind to all of them, even her. Something he hadn't done so absolutely for so long all her life.

Rei felt her mate approach her from behind. He made not a single sound, but she knew it as well as she knew she stood there. Jadeite was the packs second in command, the first Beta, and he had been since the previous first Beta had fallen to his beast.

Malachite had been Darien's most trusted and loyal friend and brother. He had been first Beta to Darien's Alpha for over five hundred years before his beast had overpowered him and he'd taken his life by means of a suicide mission rather than feed on human blood, rather than become one of the Damned.

Malachite's last act had been one of loving mercy, for it would have been Darien himself who would have been forced to take his head.

To kill his own brother with his own hands would have been the end of Darien. As it was her brother had never been the same. It had been after Malachite's death that the strains of immortality and the beast within him had begun to truly show.

Rei was no fool. She knew her brother was loosing control of his beast. He had to find his mate soon or it would be too late. Darien was the oldest and the strongest of them in the US, if he fell . . .

Rei closed her eyes and her mind against the very despairing thought. Their people had suffered so much for too long; if they lost their prince then all hope would be forever lost to them. If Darien couldn't endure against his beast, then who could?

_'Do not fear, my love.'_ Jadeite's loving whisper stroked her mind tenderly, offering her the comfort and assurance only a true bonded wolfmate could give. _'Your brother will find his mate. He would rather die than fall to his beast.'_

Rei sighed sadly as she opened her eyes in time to see Darien disappear from sight as he slipped silently into the manor and she turned to face her love. "Something's not right. I sense a great change in him even though he won't let me close."

"He hasn't turned." Jadeite assured her, comforting her, as he gently stroked the side of her head. Rei listened to her mate's thoughts as he, for the countless time, marvelled at how soft and silky her hair felt to his touch. "Darien would never let himself fall into Damnation."

Rei stepped into the open arms of her mate, needing the comfort and warmth provided by his loving protective embrace. "His beast is fierce, restless and growing within him. It gains strength with every passing year."

"And as does Darien." Jadeite wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and thanking the Moon Goddess for her, as he did every day. She was what collared and soothed the beast within him; she was his light in the darkness. For her, there was nothing he wouldn't do. It had been dark days that he had endured the torment of the wildness of his beast within him before she'd been born, but the moment she'd hit puberty, he had known that she was his. For it was at the age of becoming that mate's were revealed.

Rei was young, only four hundred and twenty-two years old, but she held a wisdom that matched the eldest of them. She had a way of seeing things, of knowing things that brought her great respect and even reverence. She wasn't the female Alpha of their pack for the sole reason that she was the Lycaon Princess. Only the strongest of them rose to become Alpha, regardless of titles and bloodlines.

If Darien, for example, hadn't become the strong and fierce warrior Lycaon prince that he was today, if he hadn't gained both physical strength and strength of will, then he would have been shunned and rejected as the pack's Alpha and the strongest would have be chosen by means of battle to the downfall.

In times of old, to fight for the right of Alpha was a battle to the death, but in current dire times, it was forbidden to kill one of their own unless it was either in self-defence – which had to be proven – or if one was falling into Damnation.

These days were times of much more civilised living. They were part animals but they weren't wild uncivilised beasts.

"Tonight," Jadeite whispered into the ear of his love, "I'll follow him and I will rest your fears, my precious princess."

Jadeite sensed her worries ease ever so slightly at his promise, and he raised a subtle mental shield that hid his doubt and worry without alerting his mate. Darien was his Alpha and he had a duty to him – not to mention that if Darien discovered him following him he'd lash his ass so badly that he wouldn't be able to sit down for a week, even with the healing abilities of the Lycaon kind – but he had a greater duty to his mate.

As did every Immortal who was gifted with their mate.

* * *

The sun had just set and the feeling returned as Serena had known it would. She stood at the window of her dorm room watching the last of the sun set beyond the horizon.

Ever since the night after _that_ night – when the impossible _hadn't _happened – she'd had this feeling that she was being watched, but it was more than just that simple feeling. That sense that destiny was waiting for her had returned; only this time it was so much stronger than it had ever been.

Serena searched the shadows of night even knowing that she wouldn't see anything. She never did, even though it had only been half a week since _that_ night – whether it had happened or not – but she had spent so many of those night time hours staring out her window, searching the dark shadows for any sign of movement.

There never was any sign of anything. There was nothing to even suggest that someone was watching her, nothing but the feeling of being watched, but it only came during the night. It was almost as if it was the actual darkness of the night that was watching her.

As well as the feeling that she was being watched, there was also this strange yearning in her soul that Serena didn't understand. She'd felt it from the very first moment she'd seen the face of her dark stranger who had saved her that night – if that night had happened, she still wasn't sure; it was hard to be without any evidence – and it was only growing in intensity within her. There had been something about him that had grabbed a hold of her and no matter how hard she fought against it, it refused to let her go. She didn't know what else to do; she was fighting it with everything every ounce of logic she possessed but when there was a part of her that didn't want her to fight it there was only so much she could do.

Especially when her heart felt so heavy and she suddenly felt lonely. She'd been alone for a while now but it was like she'd only just realised just how alone she really was.

Something had changed. Forever. Serena could feel it even though she couldn't explain it. Even her friends were beginning to look at her with concerned puzzlement in their eyes and she didn't know if it was because they were concerned about her sudden distracted state and distance from them or if it was because they too were able to sense that something had changed inside her.

As it always was, the view beyond her dorm window was silent, still and dark with the cover of night. The trees danced in the icy winter winds, corresponding dancing shadows dancing across the ground beneath the silver blue moonlight. There was nothing but the wind stirring in the night, but despite her own eyes, Serena couldn't bring herself to truly believe that.

If she hadn't known better, Serena would have sworn that there was something out there, not just watching her, but also waiting for her. Whether it meant her harm or not, didn't matter. She still feared it. It brought out too much conflicting chaotic emotions and impulses within her for her not too.

Serena froze. There! Something had moved. A shadow. In the bushes of the gardens on the other side of the footpath that lead into the dorms.

Before she could even think about what she was doing, Serena turned and bolted from her room and down the two half flights of stairs. Moving as fast as she could, Serena exploded through the double front doors with a grunt of effort and out into the cold night staring into the shadows that she'd sworn she'd seen move.

The icy night breeze felt harsh against her the bare flesh of her arms and feet, she hadn't stopped to put on a jacket or even something to protect her bare feet; she wore only a pair of jeans and a sleeves pink top. She could feel the breeze picking up her hair where it flowed freely down her back, dancing with the golden strands as it danced gracefully with the leaves of the tree around her.

Nearing the edge of the circle of light from the outside lights of the building, Serena hesitated, remembered the last time she'd stepped into the darkness of night. She hadn't been outside at night since she'd been attacked. She strained her ears for any sign of anyone – or anything – close by as she stared into the dark bushes.

Her skin prickled as her heart pounded rapidly in her chest that felt so tight that it was an effort just to keep breathing.

Someone was watching her. Right now. She could feel it as surely as she felt the cold of the icy winter night. The feeling was stronger than it had ever been. The sun had only just set but already the cold that night brought was beginning to take its place in the night.

"I know you're there." Serena told the figure in the darkness she knew was there even though she couldn't see them. "I can feel you."

The only answer she got was the silence.

"What do you want from me?"

Silence.

Frustrated, Serena found herself yelling into the darkness, "Who are you?!"

Once again there was only silence.

Serena sighed deeply, surrendering to that part of her that said that it was all in her head, as she shook her head in dismay. Maybe she really was losing it. Why would anyone be watching her? And if there was, why would they answer her?

To calm her thoughts, Serena looked up at the half moon high in the night sky of thousands of glittering diamonds, and allowed the soothing pale silver light of the moon to wash over her. She had always felt drawn to the moon in a mystical unexplainable way. Its light always seemed to soothe and comfort her.

And as it had always done, drenched in moonlight, Serena felt her worries and anxieties melt away until she felt almost at peace. Her breathing became even and her racing heartbeat slowed to a steady rhythm as the mental weight she'd carried eased.

Serena opened her eyes, the silver night sun greeting her gaze once again and she found herself giving it a small gentle smile. She knew what she needed now; a night out on the town with the girls. She needed to forget, relax and have some fun. She needed to have a few drinks and dance like she didn't have a care in the world.

She needed to reconnect with her world, her life.

Without giving the shadows another look, Serena turned and re-entered the building. She then pulled her cell phone from her pocket and hit the first speed dial knowing all she had to do was mention the three little words, "girls night out".

* * *

It had been three days since Darien had found his mate and he had been watching her for every moment of night since. He wanted to watch her every moment of the day, whether it was dark or light, but during the daylight hours Darien knew he would be noticed, no matter which of his two forms he opted for.

At the present Darien was once again in his wolf form, crouching in the bushes in front of the student dorm in which his mate lived.

He knew his mate's name now, Serena. He had finally learned her name when a classmate had come by asking for a copy of her notes from a class they shared together.

It had only been three days – but a mere moment in time for the Immortal kind – but already Darien found himself so completely taken by her, taken by her beauty and her kindness. Light and warmth seemed to radiate from her like light and warmth from the sun; they were just a part of her, as his wolf was part of him. His mate Serena possessed the best of what mankind had left to offer, she was generous, selfless, caring and she loved as easily as a sentient being breathed.

She was made up of everything good in this world, and he couldn't see how he could ever be worthy of one such as her.

Serena was at this very moment getting ready to go out on the town with her three best friends and Darien didn't like the thought one little bit. His mate was mortal, but she was so much tinier and fragile than most, and as a result his protective instincts for his mate had increased by such a large figure that he was being crushed beneath its weight and intensity.

But despite her small size and physical fragility, Serena had courage and a fierce will that he hadn't expected of her.

Darien had been greatly surprised – not taken by surprise as he had known that she had left the safety of her room the moment her delicate hand had turned the doorknob – when Serena had come running out of the safety of her dorm, without so much as a pair of shoes on, and had looked straight at him where he lay hidden in darkness. She hadn't been able to see him of course. No one saw him when he didn't want to be seen, especially mortals. What's more, he was a midnight black wolf hiding in the shadows of the night.

Darien hadn't known how she had known he was there, but he knew that she had sensed something. She had even spoken to him, but in his wolf form as he was he couldn't reply and shifting back into his human form without her seeing with her watching so intently would have been difficult. Not impossible, but if she had even caught a glimpse, it would have terrified her.

Now, however Darien was regretting not doing something when she had all but come to him. It had only taken her three best friends – Mina, Amy and Lita – fifteen short minutes to arrive with their clothes and make-up in hand. It seemed a semi-regular thing. The girls seemed to like getting ready for their night out together, doing each others hair and make-up and giving their advice on each other's appearance.

They also seemed to like sharing clothes.

It had been a long time since Darien had paid such close attention to the mortal world. So much had changed. Yes, he'd kept a semi-interest in local language and customs, which had become so much easier with the invention of television – what it freely revealed helped his people greatly to better blend in and remain unnoticed.

Darien was glad that Serena had friends, that she wasn't alone, but he found himself envious of them. They had her confidence, her trust and so obviously her love where he did not.

And the three girls couldn't have been more different.

Mina was so alike Serena in appearance that they could have easily been blood sisters. In fact they seemed to enjoy joking that they were. Like Serena, Mina had long golden blonde hair – although not as long as Serena's – and simular blue eyes. Mina sparkled with life and joy, she clearly loved to laugh. She was loving and kind and enthusiastic in a way that Darien suspected had to be exhausting. Heaven help the mortal man who was worthy of her affections; he would have his hands full.

Then there was Amy. She was what the mortals would call a bookworm but Darien had seen it in her eyes, she was a genius. She had a sharp intellect and had a passion for learning. With short dark hair with a strange noticeable blue streak and stunning medium blue eyes, she was quiet to the point of bashfulness, but there was something about her that betrayed that she had a hidden strength, a hidden will. She usually had a book in her hand but when she was with the girls it was always set aside as she eagerly joined in on their zealous conversations. A few times he had noticed her reading while simultaneously listening to the other three converse with a quiet fondness and a gentle loving smile on her pale pink lips.

And Lita. Lita actually reminded him a great deal of the warrior females of his race. Built like an Amazon warrior, she towered over the girls. She would never, however, be confused for a male, not with her generous bust size that drew the eyes of most passing males.

Darien had even witnessed one poor sod so distracted by her that he had walked straight into a flag pole.

Lita had blazing forest green eyes and long locks of deep forest brown hair that she wore in a pony tail while locks of loose hair framed her face.

But there was more to Lita than her physical Amazon beauty. She even had the bearing of the women of his race, fiercely loyal and protective of that she loved, while she had a gentle side he had witnessed – other than with Serena and the other two girls – when she had stopped to smell the roses of the gardens out front of Serena's dormitory. She had stroked the petals of the rose so delicately that Darien found himself unable to look away in wonder that one so tough in appearance and will could at the same time be so feminine while still maintain the pretence of a tomboy.

Lita reminded him strongly of a female he'd had in his pack centuries ago who had been killed in the war. She had been a lover – but unfortunately not a mate – of Nephlite, his third in command. She had been a force to be reckoned with, a force that he had not known again until Rei had come into maturity and had found her strength.

Darien was so thankful that Serena had such loving and protective friends in her life. They made her smile and come alive in a way that he hoped one day soon to make her do. When she was with them, the sadness that burdened her heart and soul seemed to ease from her beautiful soulful eyes. Her eyes betrayed that she was still mourning a great loss in her life, although just who she had lost he did not know, but he was beginning to suspect that it had been one or both of her parents. Serena hadn't said a single word about her parents or received any contact for them for as long as he had been watching her. Surely, her parents would be almost as protective of her as he now was.

Watching her for the last few nights had given him a great insight into her life and her herself. She had the most beautiful name – a name descended from the Moon Goddess – to match her outer and inter radiance. Serena. With her endlessly long flowing golden hair, like streams of golden sunlight, and eyes bluer than the sky. She was the most petite and delicate of her friends, she was so small that it clawed at him to take her up in his arms and protect her for all of time.

But it was her inner beauty that truly made her shine, that made her stand out. She had a selfless generous kindness and an endlessly loving noble heart, both of which were unmatched by any Darien had ever known in all his long immortal life. When she laughed, the entire world seemed to come to life and laugh with her, but when she was sad all colour seemed to drain from everything around her. When someone came to her for help, she gave it. When her friends needed her, she was there without being asked and when someone needed to smile she would make them do so so effortlessly.

Serena was so much more than he would ever deserve. He wasn't any of the things that she was. He was darkness where she was light. She was love when he was only hollow dejection. Where she would forgive, he would condemn.

How could he bring her into his world of darkness when she was light itself? Without light, without love, she would wither and die. How was he ever going to bring her into his world to be with him – where she belonged – when she loved the light so?

Darien bowed his head and rested the end of his black muzzle against the cold damp earth he laid upon where he lay hidden in the shadows of the bushes. Breathing in the damp scents of the earth did something to soothe his restless thoughts.

Serena was mortal. He had tasted her flesh and her blood. There was not one ounce of anything of the Immortal races within her. This meant that she would not only age and die like a mortal in less than a century, she would also be as a china doll in his violent and savage world; so helpless against even the weakest of the Immortal races. She would always be in danger, even in his own house with his own pack. It would only take one accident to strip him of her, but at the same time it had already been proven that she wasn't safe in her mortal world either.

A Damned had fed on her and she still carried the scent on her flesh, healed or not; it would take months for the scent to be no longer distinctive to an Immortal nose. Other Damned would know that she was the escaped still living prey of another Damned. This would make her a target as they would want to finish her off either to preserve their secret or to have the prey that had somehow escaped another.

What was he going to do? And what was his own pack going to do when they discovered that his destined mate was mortal?

As he saw it, there were only two ways this could go. Firstly they could reject her because she was mortal, or they could see her as a new reason to hope, which was something that his people needed, but if it turned out that it wasn't so, it would destroy what little hope his people had left.

Why did the situation have to be so complicated? Serena was his mate, it should be that simple. Take her to his pack, claim and mark her, and keep her safe, protected and happy for the rest of their days.

And Darien was no fool. He knew it as surely as his pack would when they discovered her. Serena was mortal and she would die as all mortals did, and when she did he would follow her for now that he had found his mate, he could never be without her.

Not for anything.

His people depended so heavily on him for so many reasons. He was the prince of his entire race, the future king of the Lycaon kind, the next Supreme Alpha. He was also the strongest and most powerful of his race as his father was no longer in his prime. Darien had royal blood coursing through his veins, and this made him stronger and gave him abilities the rest of his race rarely gained. He was also evidence that the beast could be fought and held at bay. He was the symbol of hope for those of his kind who were desperately struggling to hold back their beast, from becoming the Damned.

Darien was no fool and he was not narcissistic. He did not think himself so important that his kind would fall without him, but he loved and cared deeply for his people. It was his duty to protect and guide them. If even one fell because he did . . . .

But Darien could not just turn his back on his mate and leave her either. He needed her as much as she needed him.

For the first time since he had been a young pup, Darien had no idea what to do. He knew what he should do and what he wanted to do, but they contradicted so greatly that he was conflicted.

And he couldn't wait much longer to make a choice either. He hadn't hunted the Damned since he had found her, a duty that lay heavily upon his shoulders. He was what the Damned feared and he was the strongest and most skilled of his people and of those who hunted the Damned. If the Damned discovered that he was preoccupied and wasn't hunting, then so many more innocent mortals would die as the Damned could become more daring.

Maybe even a few of his own pack would fall as a result.

Darien felt so lost. He did not know what the right thing to do was for everyone he was tasked with protecting.

The wind shifted.

Darien's nose twitched and one ear perked high on his head.

That was the only betrayal of his shift of focus. One moment Darien was lying in the bushes closest to Serena's dorm, watching as the girls readied for their night out on the town, and the next he was flying through the air that had been at his back with his pointed teeth bared and his razor sharp thick claws extended to their fullest length. He easily cleared the twenty feet and hit the intruder in his vicinity squarely in his thick furry chest.

Darien was growling so savagely that saliva was spraying from his muzzle, and his eyes blazed with their murderous intent, as he snarled down into the face of his enemy. His entire wolf form was poised, ready for the kill of he who was the threat to his mate. There was no reason or hesitation left within him. His only instinct was to kill the Immortal who had been sneaking up behind him, who was the threat to his mate.

_KILL! PROTECT!_

That was all that mattered, killing this threat to protect his mate. To protect Serena.

_'Darien! It's me!'_ A familiar voice cried hastily into his murderou s frenzied mind.

Some distant part of him that still knew reason, the part of him that had always been heeded before his mate, seemed to recognise the voice through the ravenous thirst for blood. And then Darien recognised the shade of the pelt of the large wolf that Darien had pinned on the ground, belly up, beneath his enormous paws with claws so strong and sharp that they could tear through solid steel. Next, the familiar scent of his pinned captive reached his nose and his senses were finally able to reach through the animistic instincts and urges that was his beast.

His captive was fortunate that he was so experienced and controlled, for any younger than him would have been beyond reason when it came to protecting his mate. The will and need to protect one's mate when to the very deepest truest instinctive animalistic part of themselves and their beast. When it came to the protection of ones mate, it was the beast that dominated.

And the beast's first instinct was the kill the threat without mercy or hesitation; kill now, ask questions never.

Despite recognising the male wolf he had pinned firmly against the ground, who fortunately for him hadn't resisted in the least when he'd been taken down, who had and still was showing his belly freely in the clear display of submission, Darien did not ease his hold in the slightest.

Darien growled furiously, baring all his teeth threateningly, down into the wolf face and into the eyes of his first Beta. If Darien hadn't been so preoccupied and all-consumed with the thoughts of his mate and his conflicted thoughts of what to do, he would have sensed, heard and smelt the Lycaon before he had even entered the mile perimeter.

_'What the hell are you doing here?!'_ Darien snarled into his first Beta's mind, his eyes still blazing with murderous fury. _'Why are you following me?!'_

Jadeite remained perfectly still beneath him, clearly wary of setting him off again with his beast so near the surface. _'Rei fears for you.'_

In that answer Darien understood that Jadeite had acted so stupidly – and acted against him – for his mate, for the Lycaon Princess that they both loved and fiercely protected. That was something Darien could forgive more easily now. Now that he could not only understand but could empathize with much better than before.

_'I could have killed you!'_ Darien snapped irritably as he retracted his claws and jumped back off of his Beta.

Jadeite slowly climbed onto all four of his paws and eyed him with cautious bewilderment. _'How was it that I was able to get so close unnoticed? I have never been able to get that close to you unnoticed before, not in near a thousand years.'_

Darien turned his back to his first Beta, irritable that his friend was right. Even his first Beta should never have been able to get so close without Darien noticing him much sooner. If he'd been an enemy he would have been take by surprise and maybe even killed him.

Something Darien could not let happen. If he died then Serena would not only be left unprotected but she would be left alone in the world. She needed him as much as he needed her.

_'I haven't seen you this tense since before the end of the Anami War when you sought revenge for Malachite.'_ Jadeite remained behind him, but was watching him closely. _'What has you so on edge? So ready to kill?'_

Darien didn't answer him. Firstly, he did not want Jadeite to find out about Serena and secondly, he did not really know how to answer one of his closest and most trusted friends and brothers in arms.

Instead, Darien turned his attention back to Serena's room only to find, with sheer icy dread and panic, that she was no longer there. There wasn't anyone in her room now.

FUCK! She must have left while he'd been distracted with Jadeite! He should never have taken his attention from her for so long! Hell, he shouldn't have taken his eyes from her at all!

If Jadeite hadn't been such a close friend and trusted brother Darien may have killed him, or at the very least gutted him.

_'Whoa!'_ Jadeite gasped from behind him with an involuntary shudder, as Darien felt him back away from him in wary trepidation. _'I haven't felt such malice from you before! What the hell is going on?!'_

Darien felt his best friend become wary and take another wary step back as his eyes went wide and horror and gut-wrenching dread filled him.

_'Are you turning?'_

Darien growled so with frustrated anger, the noise so loud that should any mortals be in the area they would hear him, that Jadeite flinched back from him. Darien didn't have time for this! He had to find Serena before something else found her!

Nothing else mattered. He had to find Serena and keep her safe.

So fast that even Jadeite was alarmed, Darien leapt into the air and whirled his entire body around so that he was now glowering into the eyes of his first Beta, who WOULD obey him without question. _'We have to find her! And you WILL die to protect her if necessary! Do you understand?!'_

Jadeite had served Darien for near a thousand years. They had grown up together, they all had, but Jadeite did not know the man snarling viciously at him now. He had never seen him anything like this before.

For one brief moment Jadeite truly feared that his Alpha had fallen into Damnation. There was such malicious and ferocious anger pouring off of him in waves so thick that Jadeite found his shackles raised and his instincts wary and on full alert. He wouldn't have put it passed his Alpha to actually attack him and go for the jugular for the kill! His eyes were so ablaze with fury that they were black.

They looked like the eyes of a Damned.

_'Darien-!'_

With a murderous ferocious wolf roar, Darien charged passed him and took off at full speed away from him in the direction of the city.

Jadeite's eyes widened in horror as he watched his Alpha and brother fly through the night away from him at such incredible speed. No! He couldn't let Darien kill. He couldn't let him fall fully into Damnation by tasting mortal flesh.

He had to stop him.

Whatever the cost.

With a heavy and fearful heart Jadeite raced after his Alpha, best friend and closest brother. Knowing he'd need help, Jadeite reached for the mind of his wolfmate.

As bonded Immortal mates, they could reach each others minds no matter how far apart they were, even feel each others emotions as clearly as they could feel their own.

In a far corner of his mind, Jadeite was mourning for his people and his pack. If Darien turned then there was no hope left for any of them for there were none stronger than their Prince.

Who – Jadeite would have sacrificed his very soul to change it – they might just have to kill this night.

* * *

The music was too loud, the club was too packed and the drinks were outrageously priced, but Serena was having the time of her life. She loved the pop music playing with a joyous uplifting beat that was easy to dance too, she loved the feeling the alcoholic drinks left behind and she loved dancing amongst the crowd like she didn't have a care in the world.

How she loved to dance, almost as much as she loved going out with her friends. None of them currently had a boyfriend so there was no one to divide their attention. They were free to dance with a stranger or just dance together in a tight group in the middle of the dance floor.

Serena felt happy and carefree. There was nothing to weigh her down here in this place of high reckless spirits and fun. There was no sense of destiny or haunting dreams of impossible mythical attackers.

Or the memory of a dark stranger who wouldn't stop haunting her dreams and leaving her with a sense of longing that seemed to reach right down into her soul and squeeze her heart tight with its unshakable grip.

Serena sat at one of the tiny round club tables just to the right of the dance floor, the stool Serena sat on was so high off the floor that she'd had to jump up onto it – Lita had annoyingly just gracefully slid onto hers – with her feet dangling half a foot above the floor.

All around people, mainly between the ages of eighteen and their mid twenties, were dancing, drinking, laughing, flirting and having fun in the dark overcrowded, loud club with disco style techno-coloured lighting. At the table her three best friends in the world sat around her with their different coloured drinks in hand.

Serena personally liked the fruity, or what some called "girly" drinks. She liked the taste of over-flavoured sweetened fruit on her tongue and the feeling the alcohol had on her belly. She didn't drink often and she drank to excess even less. She didn't like getting drunk; tipsy yes, drunk no. There was something within her that just refused to let go of her self-control. She couldn't completely let herself get out of control, even when she was with her friends.

And for the life of her, Serena couldn't figure out what it was that stopped her from letting loose as completely as her friends did. Maybe it had something to do with her parents, maybe not.

Maybe she was just a sensible girl.

To distract herself from the disheartening thoughts of her parents, Serena turned her attention to her friends, each of who was dressed to kill.

Lita was dressed in a pair of skin tight dark blue jeans and a deep green shimmering top. It was one of those tops that looked more like a handkerchief tied around her breasts than an actual shirt. Her back was practically bare except for the thin spaghetti strap of her top at the base of her shoulder blades that was knotted in a neat shoelace bow. She wore a silver rose pendant with glittering pink diamond-like stones around her neck with matching rose stud earring in her ears. Serena envied the brunette; Lita had the "equipment" needed to pull off the outrageously sexy look. Her hair was up in its usual pony tail, only the locks framing her face had been styled in a much neater more-defined set of ringlets, the hair gel in her hair gave the appearance of wet hair.

She looked down right lethal and had over half of the guys in the club – single or not so much – were eying her. She'd already been asked to dance by at least a dozen different guys; she'd only turned them down because she was loyal to the "girl's night out" concept.

Mina was also dressed to kill but not revealing as much skin up top. She wore a simple snug fitting white dress with the skirt ending on her mid-thigh and she had a thick black belt around her narrow waist. Half her hair ran freely down her back while the other half was held at the back of her head with a big red bow. The only jewellery she wore were the large hoop earrings in her ears and a slim silver watch around her left wrist. She looked sexy but there was a hint of sweetness to her look that Lita hadn't gone for.

Amy, as always, had dressed more modestly but she didn't look any less of a knock out, not that she realised that. Whenever they – or anyone for that matter – told her, Amy blushed deep red and shyly looked away. It was sweet and adorable. Unfortunately because she was so shy, she didn't date much. It took a real special guy to really see Amy for what she was and to realise that she really was worth that little bit of extra effort it took to sweep her off her feet.

Amy appeared to be all logic and intelligence, but she really was a romantic underneath. She wanted to fall in love just as much as the next girl. She was dressed in a dark blue sparkly dress with spaghetti straps that ran just short of her knee caps and a lighter blue flower clip in her hair just above her right ear and she wore simple blue stud earrings in her ears.

And, while Serena had wanted to hit the town, she wasn't in the mood so much to have guys hitting on her. However, she still was a girl and her feminine pride hadn't let her leave her dorm without at least dressing up a little bit.

She wore a short white skirt – inches longer than Mina's dress – that she had spiffed up with Mina's white studded belt with a gentle pink sleeveless blouse that was undone enough to reveal a subtle hint of cleavage. After studying for so long, she'd wanted to leave her hair down, literally. She loved her hair but it took a lot of maintenance. While studying she had to keep it up to keep it out of her face, but she let her hair down when she was out with the girls most of the time.

And after her attack – whether it had actually happened or not – Serena had decided to forgo the high heels and had gone for more practical shoes. Her runners weren't sexy, but they were comfortable and practical, and she was able to run in them; somehow though her new white runners seemed to go perfectly with the outfit. Her jewellery consisted of the thin tear drop silver earrings she'd borrowed from Amy, a thick silver bracelet around her left wrist that she'd borrowed from Lita and her own crescent moon pendant around her neck.

It was strange what went together, outfit wise anyway.

Serena turned her attention to Lita, who sat to her left, as she leaned towards her and said loudly enough for her to hear her over the music, "Serena, honey, are you alright? You seemed distracted tonight."

Damn. Serena had tried so hard not to be, but there was a wordless voice at the back of her mind that was refusing to let her completely relax. She didn't know what the voice was trying to tell her, but it almost felt as if something was wrong. Something that was keeping her locked in a constant state of anxious restlessness.

Serena forced a smile to her cherry lip-gloss flavoured lips and lied to one of her best friends in the world, "I'm fine." She raised her drink pointedly. "I just think I'm drinking too many of these."

Mina, who along with Amy, had been listening to their conversation looked at her like she was nuts. "Serena, that's only your second drink of the night."

Is that really all she'd had? Serena looked at the glass she'd only taken two sips out of, realising the girls were right; she hadn't drunk enough to affect her hardly at all. Serena shrugged her shoulders and forced a more relaxed edge into her smile. "I guess I shouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach, huh?"

All three girls exchanged concerned glances with each other that they made no attempt to hide from her.

Not liking the fact that she was spoiling her friend's fun, Serena picked up her small white fake leather purse from the table and slid awkwardly off of the stool while making sure that her skirt didn't ride up more than necessary.

"Nachos, anyone?" Serena asked loudly in a way of an excuse for leaving the table alone.

Before they could answer, Serena stepped into the crowd and was out of sight within three steps, but instead of heading towards the bar that smartly did offer snacks and light meals, Serena headed in the opposite direction towards the restrooms. She needed to get away from everyone for a moment, she suddenly felt a little claustrophobic.

The bathrooms weren't the cleanest she'd ever seen in a club, but the ones here were suitably clean. The owner of the club was a very wealthy business woman who understood that other women really didn't like using filthy restrooms. As Serena heard it, the woman took a lot of pride in her club, and her other businesses.

Maybe that was why she was so successful and rich to boot.

Shrugging off the thought, Serena entered the ladies room and touched up her make-up which consisted of a little black mascara and some cheery flavoured lip gloss.

Catching sight of her neck in the huge mirror over the triple sinks, Serena froze as the memory of her attack flashed before her eyes. She could still feel the piercing pain of pointed fangs piercing the flesh of her neck. She could still hear the liquid slurping sounds as he drank her blood greedily. She could still smell the scent of death that had hung around her attacker like an awful cologne that he frequently bathed in.

Tentatively, Serena reached up and pulled the collar of her shirt back to reveal the only piece of evidence there had been of her attack, the only thing that hadn't let her conclusively shrug the attack off as a bad dream.

There on her neck was the almost healed bit mark. Serena couldn't explain it but when she had woken the morning after the attack, the wound was nothing more than an angry red mark. The wound looked weeks old, not four days old. It didn't even hurt, in fact if she hadn't known better she would have thought it was a hicky.

Serena gently creased her hand over the faint pink mark, this time a different memory echoing across her flesh. The dark stranger's musky earthy scent as his tongue gently licked her wound, caressing her torn flesh so tentatively that the action had almost been seductively endearing . . .

Serena closed her eyes against the memory and parted her lips as her breathing picked up, from, what she knew was, lingering arousal that was so much more potent that it ever should have been. Her body was buzzing and tingling with sensitive awareness that bordered on the verge of arousal and she shuddered uncontrollably at the wanting, the need and the hunger; it became difficult to focus on anything but the aching yearning. In her mind she pictured him licking her neck again, except this time it wasn't because she had a wound, and her legs threatened to give out beneath her. She was forced to lean against the sink as the shudder of pleasure and wanting vibrated torturously, deliciously through her.

The dark stranger had been so handsome, so overpowering to her feminine awareness with his raw sexual demeanour. He had radiated lethal power and raw sex like the sun radiated heat. His gaze had been so piercing, so intense and heated, that her soul had felt naked beneath that penetrating soulful stare. There had also been something else in those eyes, a sadness that ran so deep it pulled at her heartstrings so tightly that he could have chocked her with them, and there had been a fleeting trace of hope there too. As if he were drowning in the middle of the ocean and she'd been a tropical paradise island.

Dear, god! She was creaming! She could feel herself growing moist as her entire body buzzed and cried out demandingly for the dark stranger's touch. She wanted to feel the hardness of him buried so deeply inside of her that she felt nothing but him, that she was aware of nothing else but his heat and his strength, as he thrust harder, deeper, into her . . .

Sweet Jesus! Serena opened her eyes, snapping herself out of the wet slash day dream and gasped at her reflection. She was panting like a bitch in heat, her face and neck were flushed with arousal and her eyes were alien to her. Never had she seen such wanton desire in her own eyes! Never had she felt such yearning with burnt hot enough to burn her from the inside out! If the dark stranger had been there she wouldn't have hesitated. She would have jumped him and begged her to take her, that she was his to do with what he pleased.

Realising that her hand was stroking her neck like an intimate lover, Serena slammed both her hands down on the sink so hard that the sound of flesh contacting with a hard surface echoed through the bathroom able to be heard over the blaring muffled music from outside the ladies room door.

Serena stared into her own eyes reflected in the mirror feeling like a stranger in her own flushed heated skin.

What the hell was happening to her?

And who in the hell was the dark stranger who had left his mark on her when he had hardly touched her?

* * *

Darien couldn't run fast enough. He could sense – and hear – Jadeite pursuing him, but he was having difficult keeping up with him, already Darien was blocks ahead of his first Beta.

But Darien refused to slow down, even in the slightest. As it was it was all he could do to keep himself in the shadows as he ran to prevent himself from being seem as he sped through the mortal city.

There were advantages to his pelt being pure black; he blended into the shadows so well that he was part of the darkness. A soundless shadow moving through the night, but that didn't mean that he could not be seen by someone who wasn't meant to see him.

However, for the first time in his life, Darien didn't care about being seen, about the secret of the Immortals being discovered by the ignorant mortals.

His only thought was of Serena, his wolfmate. The woman he had been born to protect and have. How he had let her leave his sight galled him. He had to be so much more careful with her! He could lose her forever in a single matter of time, that's all it took for a life to be extinguished.

That he knew all too well. He'd had many friends and brothers throughout his long immortal life lose their mates for various reasons and he'd seen what had become of them as a result. Death had been a mercy for them, a death they had sought quickly after the loss of their mate.

Darien had never heard of a single Immortal, Lycaon or Anami, outliving their mate by more than a day. Once a mate was taken, hope and the will to live were lost. Those who lived longest – by that he meant mere hours – were the ones who sort revenge for their mate's death.

Darien didn't care a single bit for his own life, all that mattered was hers. He could live or die as long as she lived.

He had lived for a long time and Darien had known much, but never had he known a driving force like this. Never had he cared less about his own survival, and never had he moved faster in a highly populated mortal area. His heart was pounding in his ears, which wasn't that hard considering it currently resided in his throat.

And he was praying in every language he knew to the Moon Goddess that his mate was unharmed and far from danger.

Darien knew Serena's scent better than any other and he could have followed it to her, even though they had left the campus in Lita's car, but fortunately he knew the club to which Serena had gone. He had heard the girls talking about it while they'd gotten ready.

It wasn't close to the campus but it was popular with the young mortals who gladly seemed to travel the distance.

Instead of following the route the vehicle had taken, Darien ran in as a straight line as he could towards the location, hardly caring what lay in his way or for his brother in pursuit behind him even now planning, with a heavy heart, the best way to kill him if he had indeed turned.

It didn't even bother Darien, as it should have, that he would even kill his life long friend if he dared to come between him and his wolfmate.

For once in his long immortal life, Darien and his beast within were truly united, as they now shared the same goal, the same driving force, and the same hunger. In their need for her, they were forever more united.

* * *

Serena drew a deep breath, trying to find the nerve to open the door she was standing at and return to her friends.

She had slashed some cold water on her heated face and done what she could to collect and calm herself. She had calmed down a little but the flush in her checks had refused to fade in the slightest. She looked like a radioactive tomato. The chance of her friends missing the evidence of her current state, even in the dim nightclub, was akin to the chances of seeing a T-Rex walk into the club and dancing the Macarena.

As much as Serena wanted too, she knew she couldn't stay in the bathroom forever. It would only be a few minutes more at the most before her friends came looking for her. She didn't want to worry them anymore than she already had. She cared about them so much, and she didn't want to spoil their fun anymore than she already had.

Serena started to open the door and froze when she heard a chilling voice utter over the sound of the near-deafening throbbing music, "She has to be around here somewhere. You can smell the fallen Damned on her."

"She's been bitten. You can smell it." Said another equally chilling voice.

Serena's eyes grew wide in horror and she froze, unable to move. She didn't waste time with the denial that they weren't talking about her. She instinctively knew that they were after her and by the way they were talking, they were more than likely exactly like her attackers had been.

It had been real, it had happened. She wasn't dreaming or hallucinating! Four nights ago she had been attacked by three vampires on the way back to her dorm and she had been saved by the handsome dark stranger.

He was real.

Run! She had to get away before they found her. Run! Her instincts screamed it at her, and this time she was going to heed them without hesitating.

Releasing the door, Serena turned and as quietly but as quickly as possible moved for the second door in the bathroom. She knew it was there but she had little idea where it led too, but right now she really didn't care.

Throwing the door open as she ran through it without stopping to even check what was on the other side, Serena was slapped in the face by the icy cool air of the winter night.

She was outside. Looking around Serena realised that she'd stepped out into the dimly lit alley that ran alongside and behind the club. The alley, like most in the city, was filthy littered with trash and debris with a few old dented and rusting dumpsters, and it smelt like vomit, stale alcohol and decaying filth.

She had to get out of there. She needed to make it to the crowded street and then call her friends to tell them that she was leaving. She would warn them to be careful but all she could do was hope that whoever had been talking outside the ladies room was only after her and would leave her friends alone.

Serena made a break for the street, knowing that it would only take her a matter of seconds to get to it and maybe a minute or two to hail a cab on the busy well-lit street. The club was fairly popular, there were always cabs dropping people off or picking them up.

Serena only made it a couple of steps before evil malicious laughter filled the alley, bouncing off the brick walls around her like a deep canyon, and her blood turned to ice in her veins.

The laughter had sounded way too close, as if it had been coming from right behind her.

Screeching to halt, Serena spun around but there was no one there. The alley was just as deserted at it had been when she'd stepped into it.

Something wasn't right. It was just like the other night. She knew that she was being watched, her skin prickled with the awareness of it and she hadn't imagined that laughter.

Serena eyes widened in terror as the realisation that she was being hunted descended down upon her with all the force of an avalanche.

And this time there would be no dark stranger to help her. She was all alone and she was going to die.

No! A rebelling voice cried out fiercely inside her. She wasn't going to die in an alley and she sure as hell wasn't going to die without finding out what this sense of destiny she'd carried with her for as long as she could remember meant!

"You smell so good." A darkly purring voice rumbled from behind her with a wicked chuckle that sounded so alike to the heckling of a hyena.

Serena spun around once again, only this time there was someone – or something – there. He was taller than any of her other attackers had been, bigger too. He seemed to have muscle upon muscle. The muscles on his bare arms rippled every time he moved; she could even see the rippling of his chest muscle through the skin tight black t-shirt he wore. It was cold but all he wore was the thin black t-shirt and a pair of torn and well worn jeans with a black leather belt. His black hard leather boots were the only thing he wore that looked new.

"Oh, smell her fear." Another voice purred behind her with dark anticipation and even darker appreciation. "Like a fine intoxicating wine."

Serena glanced over her shoulder to see three others advancing on her, each dressed in a mixture of dark leather or denim, but two of the four looked different than the one standing in front of her. Only two of the four looked like her attackers from the other night.

Where they had been pale – as if they had never seen the sunlight as vampires were said too – the other two were tanned and smelt like the death, blood and forests. They were different, they looked different, they moved different, and they even dressed different. Unlike the pale ones that wore jackets or coats, they wore sleeveless summer attire and they were bigger, bulkier.

The main similarity between them all that Serena noticed was the black – evil – eyes that watched her as the predators she knew they were; she had witnessed that for herself first hand.

Fear and panic overtaking her, Serena turned and bolted passed the first one to reveal himself even knowing that there was no where for her to go. They had cut her off from her only escape. She knew that the door back into the ladies room would not open from the outside – there wasn't a door handle on the outside of the door – and she knew that the alley on the other side was cut off by the back brick wall of the building behind it. There was no where she could go; all she knew was that she had to try something.

She could at least put up something of a fight.

Serena knew she reached the back wall only because they allowed her too. She ran until she had to stop and she helplessly, frustrated, kicked the wall, not caring that it hurt her; pain shoot through her foot and up her leg but she ignored it.

Knowing there was nothing else for her to do, no where she could run, Serena slowly turned around and faced them knowing that she was trapped and that they were probably going to kill her just as her previous attackers had intended.

"This one's got guts." One of the tanned attackers said to the others. He almost sounded impressed.

The taller of the pale attackers studied her carefully with cold black eyes. He appeared to be . . . thinking, studying her as if he couldn't understand something about her. "You've been tasted before."

It was a statement, not a question.

The second pale attacker looked at her quizzically. He was slightly less pale than the tall one. "How do you still live?"

Suddenly, and without warning or any movement at all, the tall pale one was not a foot's distance in front of her. He stood still and silent, as if he'd been standing there the entire time instead of meters away.

Serena pressed herself back into the icy wall at her back causing a chill to sweep through her, hoping to make herself a smaller target, but she knew it was a futile effort. All she could do was remain perfectly still and keep her eyes on him the best she could as he slowly leaned down towards her neck, the side with the bite mark.

Serena desperately fought to hold back her terrified tears. He was going to bite her, only this time he was going to drain her dry. There was no dark stranger to fight off her attackers. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

They were – the two pale ones at least – were vampires. She couldn't argue that fact anymore. Not when she could see the moonlight reflecting off their sharp pointed fangs.

But, to Serena's utter amazement, no pain came. Instead she realised that he was breathing deeply through his nose. His eyes were closed as if he were focusing on the scent.

And then without warning, he moved again, too fast for her eyes to see. One moment he was scenting her flesh and the next he was standing several feet back from her, even further back that the three others with him.

The other three tensed, battle-ready and wary, at the tall pale's one's sudden alarmed reaction.

"What?" The bulkier of the tanned ones asked, staring at him with fierce black eyes. "What is it?"

The tall pale vampire snarled maliciously, his furious eyes focused on her so intently that she wondered if he was trying to burn her alive with only his dark blazing gaze.

"I know that scent and I know it well." He hissed, tensed as if ready for battle, just like the vampires the other night had been when confronted by the dark stranger. "The Lycaon Prince!" He spat the words as if they were too disgusting for him to even say.

Huh? Serena blinked in bewilderment; the Lycaon Prince? Were they talking about the ones who'd attacked her or the dark stranger who'd saved her?

The other three reacted in union with fury, loathing and more than a noticeable touch of fear. Whoever it was, they were afraid of him just as much as they hated him.

Suddenly four pairs of inhuman furious evil eyes were focused intently on her.

Serena gulped as her terror-fuelled panic threatened to bring her dinner and the one and a half drinks back up. They were going to kill her; that was certain.

"You're going to die, human!" The shorter of the two pale vampires snarled savagely. "But we'll make it quick if you tell us what you know of him and how you know him!"

Fear surged from Serena's heart so forcefully that it was painful, spreading through her like icy poison. She didn't doubt for a moment that they could make her suffer in ways she couldn't even imagine, but her last act upon this earth would not be betraying the one man who'd given her a few extra days of life, a few more days to spend with her friends.

The tall pale one looked at her with a hostile but uncertain gaze. "Why would the Lycaon prince mark you?" He sounded puzzled, dubious. "He's not Anami, so he has no reason to feed from you, but if you were his Damning prey then there is no chance that you'd escape him. So what are you that makes you so special that you are here alive and without harm?"

Serena didn't have it in her to speak, even if she did have the answers to his questions, so she merely stood frozen in silence, allowing her silence to speak her defiance for her. She wouldn't have known what to say anyway, even if she did have enough intellectual capacity left within her to actually know what in the hell he was talking about.

"Fine." The tall vampire spat at her impenitently as he took a threatening step towards her. "You'll tell us one way or another."

Serena wanted to close her eyes, she knew that this was it, but she didn't have the gumption to do so. She was sorry she was going to leave her brother alone and cause her friends pain, friends whom she loved so much, but at least they were safe inside the club.

Serena knew that he was going to bite her, and take her blood, just as the one four night's before had, only this time the dark stranger wasn't there to save her. And even though Serena had no idea what the tall vampire had been talking about, she knew, had guessed, that somehow, even after days had passed, they had been able to smell either her dark protector or those who had bitten her on her.

Had these past three days been borrowed time? Had it been her fate or something to die that night, but the dark stranger had intervened? In any case, it seemed that death had finally caught up with her.

Serena was grateful for the few extra precious hours she'd spent with her friends. She was only sorry that she hadn't spent any of her borrowed time with her brother.

The tall pale one, leaned over her again, but this time Serena knew that he wasn't merely going to sample her scent, this time he meant her harm. He wanted answers, but she had none to give, so whether it came soon or not, she was going to die by the pale one's hand.

Serena closed her eyes waiting for the pain that would end her life, but after agonisingly long and fear-filled moment, without warning, a deafening purely pissed off animalistic roar pierced the night like an audible explosion, blocking out all other sound.

Serena's eyes snapped open, seeing only the black material of the vampire's clothing as he stood scarcely an inch from her, even as he turned as the roar vibrated through the alley.

And then, in the space of a blink of an eye, the tall pale vampire was gone, the space in front and over her he'd been occupying now empty space.

Serena blinked in confusion and forced her eyes to focus on what was happening around her. That was when she found the tall pale vampire; he was crouched on his hands and knees with his three companions several feet away from her. The tall vampire looked unsettled as if he'd been taken by surprise by an enemy that he truly despised.

And then a wolf, the size of a huge male bear that was as black as night, landed with silent lithe agility in front of her, between her and her four attackers. With an enraged deep throated growl, the black wolf looked over his shoulder at her, swiftly scanning her from head to toe with his intense gaze, and then turned his furious deadly gaze back to the four attackers as he made a show of planting himself firmly between them.

It was all Serena could do not to scream.

* * *

Darien's blood was boiling from his blinding murderous fury, though it should have been impossible since the heart pumping the blood felt as if it were made of ice, ice forged of heart-shattering terror. He wanted their blood, their lives, but more than that he wanted to inflict agony such as they have never known upon them for daring to not only come near his mate but terrify her and threaten her harm. He wanted to spend days, weeks, taking them apart piece by piece by the most horrific means possible.

He could feel his beast clamouring wrathfully within him, roaring in demand for their life's blood for daring to near what was his! His beast wanted to fight, to main and kill; to destroy. To taste to life's blood of those who had threatened what he valued most. His beast wanted to be let loose upon them.

Darien could smell the putrid scent of his mate's fear and he was sorely tempted to let his beast loose upon his enemy to do as it so murderously craved.

The four Damned – two former Anami and two former Lycaons – shrank back from him; one of the Anami Damned Darien even recognised.

But it was clear that all four recognised him for who and what he was.

Darien had never been so furious, so blood-thirty with such overwhelming ferocity, in all his Immortal life and he had lived for near a thousand years, most of which he had been on the front lines of two wars. He had never wanted to kill, to maim, as badly as he did now.

"Darien." The tallest of the Damned Anami snarled, his way of greeting him.

Darien knew the Damned Anami. He was one of the eldest, longest surviving of the Damned. His name was Sapphire and he'd only been three hundred and change when he'd feasted on mortal lifeblood and become one of the Damned, and a ruthlessly cunning power-hungry Damned he had become.

The Damned across the planet had one leader, the nastiest, eldest and most powerful and cunning of their kind. Nearly one thousand years old they all severed him, the former Anami called Diamond.

Sapphire was Diamond's Beta.

What Darien really hated about Sapphire was how alike they were in appearance – once the tone of their skin was subtracted from the matter. As an Anami, fallen or not, Sapphire was pale where Darien himself was tanned. Darien was a tiny bit taller and bulkier than Sapphire as Lycaon kind did tend to be larger in body than Anami, but it took a moment to really spot the small differences between them. They could have been brothers for how alike they were in appearance.

Sapphire had black hair just as Darien did; only Sapphire possessed the noticeable dark blue tint that was rarely noticed in Darien's own hair. Sapphire had once had blue eyes; however in the long centuries of being a Damned who fed off the life force of others they had turned black.

If Sapphire was in the city, then chances were that Diamond was as well, and the thought brought Darien no comfort. Only a week ago Darien would have been pleased to know that the Damned he'd been hunting for the better part of a thousand years was so close, but now he had his mate to protect, it struck fear into his Immortal heart.

Darien snarled aggressively in greeting to Sapphire in return, flattening his ears tighter against his thickly furred head, and baring every tooth he had in murderous warning. The wolf, the beast, within him screamed in demand for revenge in the form of life's blood for the fear he could smell in his mate's scent. The scent was bitter and overpowering to his wolf nose and it put him into complete overdrive with murderous blood-thirty fury.

This mortal female, this woman, was his wolfmate and he would fight to the death to protect her. He would kill anyone without hesitation if they were in any way a threat to her. He wanted to scream it to the entire world so loud that everyone and everything across the entire planet knew that this woman was his and any who dared to come near her would die an agonizing death by his own hand.

This mortal female was _HIS_ and he would disembowel any who dared to attempt to take her from him or mean her harm.

Darien didn't like the way Sapphire's eyes narrowed on him and his mate in his efforts to understand what was going on. He was no fool, Darien knew that his enemies regarded him as having no weakness, but the moment his enemies learned of his wolfmate, he knew that they would regard her as his one weak spot and she would then become the most sort-after vulnerable creature on the earth.

She would also be the most fiercely protected creature on this earth; he would make sure of it. Nothing else mattered but the safety and well being of his wolfmate.

Sapphire slowly rose to his feet but maintained his defensive stance. "I am as old as you, Endymion. I have witnessed you upon the battlefield more times than I can recall, but never have I seen you so fiercely protective of another. Not even that beautiful sister of yours. What makes this mortal so special that you protect her as fiercely as you would your own mate?"

Darien was _very_ careful not to give _any_ reaction to Sapphire's words; as much as a twitch of his ear could and most likely would betray the truth of just how spot on Sapphire was to the heart of the matter.

Sapphire looked passed Darien at the young female mortal, hiding his frustration and growing suspicion well. He didn't want the Lycaon prince to clue into his thoughts. There was something special about this mortal female, but he couldn't figure it out. There was nothing special about her, yes she was beautiful, but he had seen greater beauty.

He had tasted her scent up close, and other than the telling scent of a Damned feeding on her and the Lycaon Prince's own distinctive scent, there was nothing special about her. She was mortal; Sapphire knew it as sure as he knew his own name.

What was he missing? What importance could this tiny mortal have to the scourge of the Damned Immortals?

Darien could see in Sapphire's eyes that he was trying to work it out, and Darien couldn't allow that. He could not let his second greatest and most powerful enemy discover the truth about Serena, not while he was outnumbered with his mate in the vicinity. He needed to deal with Sapphire now, just as he had wanted to do since he joined Sapphire so long ago.

With only the good fortune that fate's hand could bring, Jadeite lunged into the alley behind them, causing all four of them to turn around in response, realising that they had an enemy at their back.

Darien was not one to let an opportunity pass. Before the four Damned realised that he was taking advantage of their momentary distraction, Darien lunged at the largest of the two Damned Lycaon kind and with a single fatal swing of his large powerful claw, the Damned fell to the ground dead with his throat slit so deeply that barely an inch of flesh kept him from being decapitated. He never even saw Darien's attack coming, but he was not so fortunate with the remaining three now that they realised that they were under attack.

Out of the corner of his eye, Darien saw Jadeite take down the small of the Damned Lycaon kind, swallowing the Damned's neck and upper torso in his giant jaws and shacking him with brutal violent force that would have splintered a mortal's bones like toothpicks. To the Immortal, it would break or at least damage, a couple of bones.

Lycaon kind were strong and fast in human form, but only in their wolf form was their true power and strength revealed. In human form, in a one on one _honourable_ battle against one in wolf form, depending on age and experience, the Lycaon in human form could defend himself for a good while before he'd be forced to either change or flee if he wanted to live.

Trusting Jadeite – as long as he remained on the opposite of him from Serena – to take care of the remaining Lycaon, Darien turned his attention back to the two remaining Damned, both Anami Damned.

Only to find Sapphire was no where in sight – it was true to Sapphire's style to flee if the odds were anything but unfair in his favour – and the second Damned Anami had his back to him, fleeing.

But before the Damned could escape the alley by the obvious means of jumping onto the two story high roof of the nightclub – that was providing loud and convenient noise to cover the racket they were making – Darien lunged into the air, his two front paws landing on the Damned's back and taking him down to the ground beneath his massive bulk and greater weight – a good tonne of enormous muscled wolf – crushing him between his weight and the filthy damp asphalt.

Unfortunately, the remaining Damned refused to go as quickly and as easily as the two Damned Lycaons had.

The Damned Anami twisted beneath him and kicked out with both his feet, that connected hard with Darien's belly and sent him flying over him.

But Darien was not feared by all the Damned for nothing. Twisting his body with catlike agile precision, Darien's four feet landed vertically on the wall and with a powerful spring Darien was flying through the air, back towards the Damned, who had leapt to his feet in time for Darien to come once again crashing into him.

Catching the Damned Anami's right arm between his long razor sharp teeth, Darien extended his razor claws once again, and this time when they landed, Darien's left claw pierced the Damned Anami's ribcage and his heart with a deafening soggy crunch.

Darien could feel the cold pavement beneath the pad of his paw while the wet blood from the Damned's chest soaked his paw and ankle.

Darien let the body of the Damned Anami fall from his mouth, knowing that Sapphire had fled when he'd realised that Darien's cavalry had arrived and he would not reappear tonight. Four against one, that was odds that no one, Immortal or Mortal, wanted to go up against. One on one against any of them, Sapphire would have a fight on his hands but it would be an even one.

Darien sensed his remaining two Beta's enter the alley as he wretched his paw from the dead Damned Anami's crushed ribcage and was able to finally turn his attention fully to his mate. He hadn't caught scent of Serena's blood, which told him that he'd arrived in time to save her from becoming a late night snack, but he still wanted further assurance that she had suffered no harm.

However, before he could take more than a single step towards her, Darien heard three sets of frantic paws steps and suddenly his path to his mate was blocked by three wolves equal to his own size.

Jadeite stood directly in front of him, tensed and battle ready, obviously prepared to take the first attack from their Alpha should he attack them. His other two Beta's flanked him, just as prepared to jump into the fight.

His own Betas, his own brothers, were prepared to fight him to the death because they feared that he'd fallen to his beast, become a Damned, or were about too.

Darien found himself oddly proud of them but more than that he was murderously irritated. His beast cried out for the blood of those who stood between him and his mate, however fortunately – for his brothers – he had more control than that, control that came from all his long centuries of life and battle. He growled at his beast and assured it that Serena was in no danger, after all if he had turned was it not better that his own protect her, even against their own Alpha?

The beast growled within him, the growl carried and released from his muzzle before he could prevent it. It was a sound of deadly warning against his three brothers in wolf form that stood between him and his wolfmate. Had he not been so old, so practised in his patience and control, and had he not loved them as brothers, his beast wouldn't have even given the warning, but instead torn them apart for the unforgivable offence of coming between him and his mate.

_'Move.'_ Darien commanded them, and that's exactly what the word was. As Alpha his word was to be obeyed without question or hesitation.

_'We won't let you stain your lips with human lifeblood!'_ Jadeite's resolved voice thought into his own mind, his resolve set in his tone.

_'No matter what, we won't let you turn brother!'_ Nephlite added with conviction and brotherly promise.

Zoicite looked into his wolf eyes imploringly with him own. _'Please, Dare. You're stronger than this! We know you can beat it! Your beast is yours to master, not the other way around.'_

Oh, for crying out loud! Darien had had enough of this!_ 'I have not nor am I going to fall to my beast! Now, GET OUT OF MY WAY!'_

They visibly winced as his loud and weight baring command echoed through their skulls.

Scenting great fear, Darien looked passed Jadeite to see Serena pressed against the back wall of the alley, her eyes wide as saucers and filled with terror as she stared unblinkingly at the four bear sized wolves before her, one of which had just slaughtered two of her attackers in a brutal and bloody battle.

It was like a switch had been flicked within him, the change was that immediate. Serena was no longer in danger and she was here in his sight. A wave of peace and tranquillity, and worry, washed down over him and just like that he was completely in control once again; even his beast settled within him, now calmly urging only that he comfort his mate and to take her someplace safe. He felt his body relax and just like that he was at peace.

The three Beta's gawked as the instant and noticeable change came over their Alpha. One moment he'd been fierce and murderous, the next with only one glance upon the mortal woman cowering at their backs, he had calmed. Both mentally and physically.

The three Beta's had no clue what was going on. What had gotten into their Alpha?

Darien smiled what he knew was a wolf's gentle affectionate smile, his eyes glued to her, as he now knew the true meaning of peace.

_'She's my wolfmate.'_

Darien heard their collective gasps in complete and utter shock, but he didn't care about them. Calmly, slowly, Darien walked through them and approached his mate, trying to be as less threatening as possible.

Which was not easy for a wolf, especially one the size of a car that had just battled and spilt life's blood before her wide terrified eyes.

Knowing that he had no other choice – and that it was going to freak her for much more than she already was – Darien called upon the essence within him and willed it to turn him back to his human form. Mortals would have called it magic that allowed them to change between the two forms but they didn't think of it that way. It was just part of who and what they were and they were grateful for it.

Mostly.

Serena wasn't sure exactly when she'd lost her mind, but she was now certain that she had as the jet black wolf that had just fought off her attackers was changing into the shape of a man, morphing like something from a science fiction movie. It was like the wolf had just stood up on his hind legs and somewhere along the way had evolved into a man before her eyes.

A _naked_ man. Serena kept her eyes firmly on his face, not even daring a glimpse south.

As the man – who'd a moment before been a wolf the size of a car – raised his head to meet her eyes Serena instantly recognised him, only her eyes physically couldn't possibly widen any further.

"It's you." The words were barely a shocked whisper but when his lips formed into a small careful smile she knew that he'd heard her.

The blissful empty blackness hit her with no warning. The world just went out like a light had been switched off.

As her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she fainted, Darien rushed forward and caught his mate before she could fall anymore than half way to the cold hard ground at their feet.

Knowing she had only fainted – despite the fear and panic that had risen like a tidal wave inside of him – Darien lifted her tenderly into his arms, cradling her against his naked chest like the precious and delicate treasure that she was.

Behind him, his three Betas followed his lead and shifted back to human form, all three staring at her in bewildered wonder.

"How can this be?" Nephlite asked none of them in particular in a mystified tone. "She's mortal. I can smell it."

"I don't know." Zoicite answered in puzzlement. He, who was easily the most intelligent and knowledgeable among them, was stumped and without answers. "It's never happened before in any recorded history."

Jadeite was relieved that his brother hadn't become one of the Damned, but a new fear took its place, one of much graver dread. "Darien-."

"Don't Jadeite." Darien warned him, his tone soft as he refused to look up from the face of his mortal wolfmate. "She's mine. She's my destined mate, I don't give a damn whether she's Immortal or not. And I'll have _words_ with any who contest my right to her."

They all knew what Darien knew by _words_.

As one, all three Lycaon Betas bowed their heads respectfully in submission to their Alpha and his will.

A moment later, several feet down the alley way, a door of the club opened, drawing their immediate and alert attention.

While being sure to keep the door open, Lita stepped out into the alley and looked it up and down for any sign of Serena who'd gone for food but hadn't came back.

"Serena?" Lita called into the motionless dimly light night.

No answer. Everything was silent and still beneath the dim lights and pale light of the moon above. The alley way was empty and deserted.

With concern building in her heart, Lita stepped back into the ladies room of the club, closing the door behind her, to continue her search for their youngest beloved sister.

Two blocks away, four naked male figures moved through the shadows, one of which carried the smallest fifth figure securely against his naked chest.

* * *

Sapphire watched the Prince and his three Betas run off into the night, heading in the direction of their territory, with the mortal female held possessively – almost tenderly – in the prince's arms.

The only evidence of the battle that had occurred a few minutes before was the fire blazing in the dumpster, lit the moment the door had closed behind the dark haired mortal before the Beta had followed after his Alpha after cleaning up what remained of the three bodies of the dead Damned.

Sapphire was no newborn; he knew very well where the Lycaon Prince slumbered. The Prince's manor and surrounding territory was a sanctuary for all Lycaon kind on the continent.

His eyes narrowed in calculation and dark delight.

Sapphire hadn't fled as the Prince had thought he had, instead he had stayed close enough to watch and listen with his supernaturally heightened Anami hearing. In war, information was far more valuable and dangerous than weaponry.

Sapphire had heard every word they'd spoken aloud and he grinned with evil anticipation of their appending victory.

So the Lycaon prince had found his mate at last, and even more superbly, she was mortal, which made her so completely helpless and a vulnerable weakness. What's more was the fact that she was the first of her kind.

A mortal female had been claimed as the mate of an Immortal, something which had always been thought to be impossible in the Immortal World.

Diamond was going to be pleased to hear about this. Finally they not only had a way to the Lycaon Prince, who before now had been untouchable, without weakness, but they had what they had been waiting for.

A way to increase the numbers of their kind other than waiting for the remaining Immortals to fall into Damnation and join them. The Damned were not gifted with mates, they could not breed as the uncursed could, but now there may just be hope for that to change.

Turning and disappearing into the darkness, Sapphire knew that things had changed this night, and he was looking forward to tasting the lifeblood of the Lycaon prince.

At last their time had to conquer and rule had come.

* * *

**Chapter End Notes:**

**Chapter 3 is going to be a fortnight or so.**


	5. Chapter 3 Prisoner of the Wolf

Hi guys, no I didn't fall off the edge of the earth. I know I promised this ages ago, but better late than never. I am still without an editor, so please excuse the occasional spelling or grammical error in my work.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Prisoner of the Wolf**

* * *

Darien had known that bringing a mortal woman, carried unconscious in his arms, back to his manor would cause as stir amongst his pack and he'd been right. His pack was abuzz with barely restrained emotion ranging from unease, confusion and fear to relief and timid hope.

Jadeite had forewarned Rei before they'd even neared the manor and the young Princess had done her duty and prepared the pack for their arrival the best she could.

Very few secrets were kept within the pack as perfect and unwavering trust was needed to co-exist as they were competitive unruly creatures by nature, but at the same time, Darien was Alpha; he did what he did without the expectation of being questioned.

It was the way of the wolf, Lycaon or not.

Stepping into the crowded but silent entrance hall, Darien looked around at his pack that stood watching him in silence. Near all of his pack had gathered, just under thirty Lycaon kind.

Only six of whom were female.

The Pack had felt him coming. A member of his pack always knew when their Alpha was near. Darien knew the intimidating instinct to submit well; he had lived under his father's rule for centuries until he had sought his own pack and home in the New World. His father was and had been the High Alpha and King of all Lycaon kind for a _very_ long time.

Behind him, Darien's Betas flanked him, still in their wolf forms. A silent warning to the pack that they had better keep their distance for their prince and Alpha would not risk his mortal wolfmate's wellbeing and safety, not even from his own pack.

And there, up on the landing of the second floor that overlooked the entrance hall, near the top of the stairs was Rei, patiently waiting for him. She stared down at him with dark unreadable eyes, but Darien could plainly see her tense stance. He knew his sister well enough to know that she was deeply worried.

In his arms Serena – his wolfmate – was so tiny and light that he couldn't feel her weight at all. He had carried her limp form through the city until the car he'd had Jadeite order Rei to send to him had picked him up. He could have run the entire way but he hadn't wanted his mortal mate in the cold any longer. While his three Beta's had run in the woods by the road, easily keeping pace with the car, Darien had held his unconscious mate in his lap all the way back to the manor.

Now that they were finally home, Darien gently carried his wolfmate up the stairs and swept passed Rei without even looking at her. His eyes were fixated on his mate.

Less than a minute later, Darien gently, tenderly, laid Serena on his bed to rest as his sister and three Betas waited outside the room. He knew that his mate wouldn't wake for a while, she'd been through quite an ordeal tonight and she was exhausted as her sleep had been continuously interrupted by her nightmares over the past four nights. He knew because he had heard every sleep-softened whimper and moan. He hadn't been able to watch her as her window had been on the second floor, but he had heard every word she had uttered in her sleep and he had heard her tossing and turning restlessly.

She would sleep deeply tonight, so deeply that Darien doubted she would be plagued by nightmares.

Covering her with the heavy covers, Darien found himself staring longingly down into her radiant face that was framed by thick silky strands of golden sunlight. Never had Darien seen a sight more beautiful and precious than his mate sleeping soundly in his bed.

Burning desire flared within him, and his Beast cried out for the mating of wolfmates, but Darien ignored his own body's responses to her and hushed his Beast. She needed to rest and so she would rest, undisturbed and safe.

Tenderly, Darien found himself gently caressing her cheek as he pushed away a stray strand of sunlight silken hair from her face that was flawless in its beauty.

Her skin was soft, warm and smooth.

Within, his Beast growled with heated impatience, warning that it would not be held back from claiming her in flesh for very long.

Before he ran the risk of losing his control too far, Darien cast one last longing but content look at her and left the room, closing the doors soundlessly behind him. He would have to organise shifts of his best warriors to guard the door. He would not leave her unguarded, not even for a moment. She was too precious, too important to him and his kind to take _any_ risks with.

For the next few hours though, until his pack settled down somewhat from this astonishing and unforseen happening, Darien himself would remain close enough that guards would not be essential. Not until he went down to rest for the day as he would need his strength for the night to come.

Darien slowly turned away from the thick and heavy hardwood double doors, to face his three Beta's, his eyes flashing with lethal warning. "Nothing is too happen to her. She is too remain safe and secure in my chambers. No one is to enter and she is not to come out."

The three Beta's jumped to attention, standing tall and still before their Alpha's authoritative bearing. They had no illusions; his words were orders to be taken as seriously as their lives.

Darien took a step closer to the three, his demeanour that of thunderous warning. "If anything happens to her, you will know a fate far worse than death."

Darien added a fierce guttural growl for good measure, warning them as the fierce and powerful warrior Prince and Alpha that he was.

And without another word, Darien stalked passed them and entered the room next door to his personal bed chamber. The room was his personal library and it was easily as large as his bed chamber. There was a connecting door between the two rooms, but it was firmly closed. It would not open tonight. He did not trust himself with his mate, not with the heat of battle still simmering in his blood and his untrustworthy Beast champing at the bit, forged from Darien's iron will and well-practised self-control, to get to her.

Darien knew all too well, from his near millennia of battling enemies that the heat of battle could so easily shift into another intense form of heat, a heat that was just as fierce and overpowering as the blood-thirsty rage of war.

As Darien always did upon entering a room – especially one of his own – he scented the air, tasting the scents with his superhuman animal sense of smell, tasting the air for any sign of intruder upon his territory.

The library was just as he had left it; the air within carried only his scent assuring him that his private library had not been intruded upon by any other, friend or foe.

Behind him, Rei and the three Betas followed him in, silent and solemn.

Darien sighed, it had been a long four days and he was in no mood to hear what he knew was coming, but it was better to have it said now that to let it stew. So he closed the door behind them and breathed another deep breath – this one for the sake of his patience – before he turned to face them. They were his family, and they cared about him. He could not deny them that. What they had to say was born from their love and concern for him.

Rei couldn't hide her worry or her doubt, and she made no attempt too. There were things that her brother needed to hear and she was the only one he wouldn't silence. Besides, she had never been one to hold back, she expressed what she thought and believed freely.

She was a princess after all; one who was the reflection of their mother in measures of strength, will and loving nurturing – when she wished to be.

"Darien, I know you have waited, fighting your Beast, longer than most, but you have to understand how ludicrous this is!" Rei's tone was emotional in her imploring for him to understand the truth of her words. "She's human, as mortal as any ever born. She can't possibly be your mate! I know you desperately struggle with your Beast, but to delude yourself into believing that she is actually your mate-."

Darien turned on her with a warning growl and warning fire blazing in his dark eyes. "Do not lecture me! I know what I feel and I know that she is my mate as sure as I know I am Lycaon!"

Rei's eyes and heart softened with sadness and love for her brother, as her temper deflated beneath her brother's iron conviction. "Darien, brother. Please hear me. She is mortal. You are Immortal. There are just reasons why mortals are not matched with us."

Darien swiftly turned his back to his sister, and stalked over to the wall adjoining his chambers where his mate soundly slept. With his superhuman hearing he could hear her soft even breathing and calm heartbeat; the soft sounds assuring him that she was alone in the room and at this moment, peaceful.

Darien sighed as the wave of peace that only his mate could bring swept over him. It was something he hadn't known since childhood in his mother's caring embrace. Now, just knowing his mate rested safely only one room away was enough to bring him peace and soothe his Beast.

"I know well what this means, Rei, but it doesn't matter." Darien said serenely, his tone soothing. "She will grant me a few decades of peace in which I will arrange my affairs and then I will join her in death when her natural life comes to a natural end. Maybe that has always been my fate." His eyes closed against his welling sadness and longing, longing for her and the peace only she could give. "I have lived too long without a mate. I have lost so many and killed even more. Some of whom I called brother."

Jadeite could not stand his mate's pain as well as his own any longer; the very thought of her brother's death brought Rei dreadful sorrow and fear. He stepped forward with the purpose of solemnly imploring his Alpha to hear reason. "Darien. My brother. My Prince and my Alpha. You deserve a mate greater than any of those you hold command over. Could it be that this girl is a victim of the madness your Beast is consumed by-?"

"She is my mate. I know it as surely as you know my sister is your own." Darien snapped impatiently as he turned and looked at them with hard steady eyes. His patience was reaching its end. He was not accustomed to being questioned so, even by those he trusted and cared for most. "Has the potential of this not occurred to you? If mortals can be mated with us, then maybe, just maybe, our race can be saved from extinction."

They remained silent and as serious as the death their Alpha would, in a small number of decades at best, be facing. It pained them that their Alpha had finally found a mate only for her to be a mortal who was not of their kind.

"But it could also lead to the fall of so many." Zoicite pointed out in a low encumbered voice, speaking up for the first time since they'd taken the mortal woman from the alleyway where they'd saved her. "With mortal mates, once mated, our kind will only be able to survive at best a century before they follow their mate into death. No Immortal can outlive their bonded mate."

Darien did not argue the fact, for he knew it all too well. He had seen too many mated Immortals end their own lives in wretched despair and anguish when their mate was taken from them in the wars passed or by the hand of fate.

Instead, Darien looked into the eyes of his third Beta with soft hope in his own. "Then maybe life will become far more precious to us, as it is to the mortals who know enough to appreciate it."

Rei couldn't stand the renewed hope in her brother's calm voice; it was as if he had already accepted his all-too-soon impending death and she absolutely refused to let him so serenely accept that premature death. Her brother was too important to their race, to their survival and to her.

"Darien, it's not only her mortality. What of her vulnerability?" Rei was pleading with him to acknowledge the truth of her words. "For a moment let us forget that you are the crown prince and future king of all Lycaon kind, our Alpha. Not to mention that she will always be a soft target for your enemies. What about life amongst us in general? We are part animal, Darien. It is in our natural to fight, even amongst ourselves. How would she face a challenge?" She indicated at the wall, to the mortal woman on the other side of the wall, "She would be a princess and viewed in the light of our queen-to-be, our female Alpha. How could she possibly live up to her role, her responsibilities? An alpha, female or male, must defend their place."

Darien quickly suppressed the irate growl that tried to force its way up his throat at the thought of anyone daring to challenge his mate and her rightful place in his pack. Should any even think of challenging his mate the way he was habitually challenged, they would face him and his fury instead.

"And you are our fiercest warrior." Rei went on, indicating to him with her hand now. "Diamond will hear of her before long and he will know that now he has the means to destroy you, once and for all. And it will be easy for him once she is in his sights. One moment is all he will need to end her life, and in so doing, yours as well; the both of you dead with a single blow. Please brother, for your sake and the mortal's, return her to the Mortal World and forget her. Let her have the mortal life she is meant to live."

Darien saw red and he gritted his teeth and clinched his fists so tightly that his arms were shaking from the strain as he fought to keep control of himself; his Beast wanted to leap into violent action against his own sister. It was embedded in his kind to protect females, especially those close to him, but the compulsion to protect his own mate before all else was embedded even deeper in the nature of the Lycaon. "_This_ is the life she's meant to live, the life she _will_ live AND I WILL HEAR NO MORE OF IT!"

Even Rei cringed back from him, his unyielding resolve clearly cemented in place and his expectancy to have it accepted and obeyed evident in his blazing eyes.

Darien refused to be questioned. He was Alpha, and his word was law in his pack and his territory. Serena was HIS and he had no intention of letting her go for any reason what-so-ever. He would fight to the death to protect her, he would bow to her every whim and need and he would keep her close. He had obligations to his pack, but his mate was a gift from the Moon Goddess and in so many ways she would always come first.

Before _all_ else. For the rest of their joined lives, however brief that may be.

* * *

The first thing Serena became aware of was how warm and comfortable she was, so much so that she didn't want to wake up, but there was something nagging at the back of her mind that was refusing to let her sink back into the sweet oblivion of the warm peace of sleep. It was truly irritating the hell out of her. It was as if a fly had crawled in through her ear and was buzzing around in her head like in some Saturday morning cartoon.

What day was it? Did she have to go to classes or could she sleep in a little and just put in a few extra hours of study in the evening? She was so content she didn't want to move, didn't want to get up and face the long strenuous hours of study for her midterms. All the long hours of study was a major pain that she had to keep forcing herself not to slam the books shut in frustration but it was only a few more months before summer break when she could relax and truly enjoy her sleep-ins for a week or so before really getting into the joys of the warmest time of year.

Summer. The word made Serena smile as summer meant that her studies were over for the academic year, leaving only shopping, relaxing and spending the holidays with her friends. Since Lita's parents weren't using their modest cabin up in the mountains, they had all been talking about spending a few days up on the mountains together. It sounded like a magnificent escape; Serena was really hoping that they decided to do it. It would be nice to get well away and not have to worry about anything but having fun and running out of ice cream – like the last time they had all gone away together; the four galleons of ice cream that they had taken with them had lasted one night. They had all enjoyed eating it but it had made them feel like sickly sluggish hell the following morning.

In other words, they'd suffered from sugar hangovers.

After that they had rationed their supply of chocolate and gummy bears. That supply had lasted three days, not bad considering that they had taken a weeks supply with them.

Upon their return, they had all had to log extra exercise hours to make up for the massiveholiday intake of sugar, fatty foods and lounging about. Not that they'd sat on their behinds the entire time – half the time, maybe.

The other half they'd walked and hiked all over that mountain, and they'd spent hours swimming in the small lake at the base of the mountain and explored some caves they'd found.

They just hadn't been nearly as active as they'd needed to be in order to burn off the massive amount of calories they'd ingested with the ice cream alone.

And now Serena was looking forward to doing it all over again.

With a soft groan, Serena turned and rubbed her face against the soft fluffy pillow that felt like cool silk against her warm skin.

Serena froze. Hang on, something wasn't right. She was too comfortable, too warm, the bed too soft, to be her bed in the dorm.

Very slowly, without opening her eyes, Serena pulled her hand from beneath the heavy covers and ran her hand across the pillow on which her head rested. The fabric was flawlessly smooth and soft like some fine expensive silk.

She didn't _have_ a pillow that was this soft and fluffy and covered with a silk pillowcase.

Too alarmed and wary to move, Serena turned her full attention to her other senses. She didn't need to use her hands to realise that she was lying between silk sheets beneath heavy covers that smelt oddly familiar – and downright delicious in a way that made her toes want to curl like those of a contented cat.

Drawing in a deep breath through her nose, Serena drank in the scent that was earthy – in a deep in the enchanted woods way – and something else that was richly musky. And it was a scent her senses knew because it had been burned into her memory the first time she had sampled it.

_Him_.

So fast that her surroundings blurred, Serena bolted upright in bed to be greeted by unfamiliar dark surroundings.

She was in a bedroom that was easily the size of the entire floor of her dorm, in the largest bed she had ever seen, covered by the smoothest silk sheets she had ever felt. They were so flawlessly smooth that the surface of water seemed course in comparison. The bedroom around her was obviously that of a man as there was not a single feminine touch in the room that looked like something out of an English castle.

All the furniture, from the enormous bed to the car sized desk were matching deep brown vanished timber; each and every piece of furniture looked like something that was brought at a high-end antique shop reserved only for the wealthiest of clients. The furniture in the room consisted of the enormous bed that she was in, which was large enough to comfortable fit ten people. The headboard was exquisitely carved with forestish designs and was draped in heavy fluffy covers; the thick feather down comforter and the massive pile of pillows were draped in a black silk covering.

On either sides of the bed were a matching set of matching polished bedside tables, both featuring a small black currently light lamp on it's smoothly polished top. Three large heavy deep coloured rugs sat on the polished dark timber floorboards. One was positioned at the foot of the bed and almost ran the entire length between the foot of the bed and the double hardwood doors directly opposite – it had to be at least twenty, maybe even thirty feet! The second, only smaller than the first rug by a foot or two, sat in the centre of the wide empty space between the bed and the floor and ceiling French doors that lead out onto a balcony or terrace or something. And the third rug sat in front of the large hardwood desk.

There were five doors leading in and out of the room. There was the French doors to her left and the large double solid looking hardwood doors directly in front of her on the other side of the large rug at the foot of the bed. Then there was the two single separate wooden doors that appeared to have been designed to be discrete that were in the corner between the wall with the French doors and the wall in front of her. The two doors met in the corner, almost making up the corner of the room. They were in the far corner and more than likely lead to an ensuite and/or walk-in closet or something.

The fifth door was identical to the ensuite door but it was in the centre of the wall to her right, on the other side of the large desk. Where that lead, Serena didn't have a clue.

To Serena's right, on the opposite half of the room was a sitting slash lounge area. There were two large three seater deep brown leather couches facing each other with matching puffy deep brown arm chairs on either side and there was an armchair in the middle. The end result was that it was a place for eight people to comfortably sit with a cup of coffee and just talk.

They looked brand new, as if they had never been used even once before.

And then there was the large desk – the kind with three sides providing workplace to the front, the right and the left – with a slim sleek black computer screen on the top middle that looked more like a television it was so large, and a black leather computer chair that looked so comfortable that it could almost be slept in.

Everything was neat and perfect, like something out of a magazine of the ridiculously rich and brooding. The style was dreary posh Victorian-England. The room was dark and dreary with its deep polished wooden tones and earth tone colouring, from the rugs to the bed covers to the chair leather, all the colours were deep and dark forest colours, browns, crimsons reds, dark greens and blacks.

There was also no sign of anything personal in the room. There were no picture frames, no knickknacks, no books, not even a single piece of clothing.

The room was filled with the telling of a lot of money - whoever lived here liked things old fashioned in décor and had money to burn – but it was Spartan in its core; for heaven's sake, a hotel room had more than this bed chamber did.

It was kind of depressing, breathing-taking in its marvel, but dreary and depressing at the same time.

Where the hell was she and how in the hell did she get here?!

Serena reached into her memory, seeking answers, but the last thing she could clearly recall was standing in the ladies room of the nightclub while Mina, Amy and Lita waited for her at their table to bring back some snacks.

After that, it became fuzzy. What had happened to her last night? Had she had too much to drink after all and had gone home with some guy or something?

But then why did everything around her, even the scent of the air, remind her of the dark stranger who had taken over her dreams?

Serena looked down at herself and saw, with overwhelming relief, that she was still dressed in what she'd been wearing . . . was it last night? The only thing that had been removed, by the feel of it, was her shoes.

Even her jewellery was still in place.

Throwing aside the heavy warm covers, doing so regretfully as the air in the room was freezing against her heated skin, Serena slid off the bed and looked around, searching for anything that was familiar other than the woodsy scent in the room. She refused to believe what her senses and her instincts were telling her, that her dark mysterious stranger was near.

For one thing, he was just some figment of her overactive imagination and too long ignored hormones.

For the time being, Serena ignored the double doors that were the obvious way out and she instead headed for the two single doors on the far left side corner the room. On the way, Serena cast a look out of the French doors to see that the sky was awash with purplish pink and greyish blue indicating twilight. It was either sunrise or sunset, she had no way of knowing until the sky either darkened with the coming night or lightened with the dawning of a new day.

Just as Serena had expected; the first door lead to a windowless walk-in closet the size of her entire dorm room. She closed the door without looking too hard as it wasn't what she was looking for but she did notice that most of the clothes were either black or so dark a colour that they were almost black.

Whoever lived in this room didn't seem to like bright colours, or any colour at all, judging by what she'd seen so far.

Behind the second door, Serena found what she was looking for; an ensuite. It was complete with a huge shower in a clear glass stall and a bathtub large enough to take diving lessons in. There she took a few minutes to make herself more comfortable and then she washed her hands and face with warm water, washing the sleep from her eyes.

Comfortable and more alert – but not exactly refreshed as she was still wearing clothes she had danced and then slept in – Serena stepped back into the enormous bedroom and turned her attention to the double doors, still struggling to remember what had happened last night, or in the very least try to figure out what that little voice in the back of her mind was trying so persistently to tell her.

Now that she was fully awake, Serena felt more alert and cautious. She didn't know where she was or who had brought her here – or why they had brought her here – but she intended to find out. Whoever it was that had brought her here, she would politely thank them and then leave as quickly as possible. Serena knew that she wasn't in the city anymore, or even anywhere near it. There was none of the usual city noise that she was used too. All there was was silence. She would either need a ride back into the city or she would need to call one of the girls to come pick her up.

Serena hoped that last night she'd had sense enough to tell her friends she was leaving without them. She didn't want them to worry about her because she'd suddenly disappeared.

Laying a hand on each of the doorknobs of the double doors, Serena drew in a deep breath to prepare herself for whatever she was going to find – about what lay beyond the doors and what she'd done last night. She had her plan, now she just had to execute it, as Amy would say, and get the hell out of there.

Inwardly, Serena cringed; she had studying to do but right now it was the last thing she felt like doing. She didn't have a headache, well not much of one anyway, but she still felt crappy, like she hadn't slept long enough or she'd slept way too long and had nothing in her stomach to boot.

Throwing open the doors, and taking a determined step through them, Serena found herself face to face with a tall man with long blonde hair that was pulled back in a low pony tail at the back of his neck. Serena couldn't see how long his hair was since he was facing her, but she knew that it was an unusual look for a guy – a straight one at least. His eyes were emerald green and even though he wore a serious expression on his handsome boyish face, there was a spark of kindness in his eyes that was unmistakable.

And even though he made no move towards her, nor showed any kind of threatening behaviour at all, Serena found herself taking a wary step back from him. There was something about him that screamed that he was far more dangerous than he appeared, and strangely whatever the something was seemed very familiar to her. He wasn't pale like the vampires in her dream had been but there was something that reminded her of her dark stranger-.

Her dark stranger.

Serena's eyes widened in incredulous realisation and it was all she could do not to collapse as the memories of last night hit her like an anvil. She remembered now; the vampires cornering her in the alley, a black wolf the size of a family car lithely landing in front of her to put itself between her and her attackers and then the wolf had killed two of the four attackers in a violent bloody battle of ferocious snarls and talon claws and vampire fangs.

The world around her began to spin and Serena had to grab hold of the doorknob with both hands to keep herself from falling. She remembered it all now, including the other three car-sized wolves arriving, standing protectively between her and the black wolf as if they had to protect her from the black wolf that had protected her.

"Miss?"

Serena blinked, forcing herself to raise her disorientated gaze from the floor back to the face of the tall blond man to find him staring at her with concern, watching her as if he were afraid that she was going to either pass out or freak out.

Refusing to remember anymore, Serena steadied her stance as her survival instincts and her fear merged into one and both screamed at her the same thing.

RUN!

Fear and her instinct to survive hit her hard and instantly Serena could all but taste the adrenaline being pumped into her system. The top half of her body became even colder as she steadied herself.

She had to get away from wherever she was. She had to find someplace safe and _stay_ there. It was all real; the vampires, the impossibly humungous wolves, who for some reason were suddenly interested in her. She had no idea how she knew, but she did know without doubt that she was involved in something that was so out of her league that she was in serious danger.

Zoicite tensed in response to the mortal female's own body tensing. He knew she was going to bolt, but what he didn't know was what to do about it. As he saw it, he had two options; either stop her or let her. If he stopped her, he would have to touch her and there was no doubt that his Alpha would tear strips in his hide for daring to touch his mate. On the other hand if he allowed her to run and she hurt herself or worse, actually made it off the manor's grounds, then Darien would kill him.

Talk about being damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

Deciding on the course that was the least of two evils, Zoicite smoothly moved back as the young mortal woman burst into action, running down the corridor towards the staircase like the hounds of hell were on her tail.

Not looking forward to the consequences of this, Zoicite reached out to his Alpha's consciousness, warning him that his mate was at this very moment running frantically down the staircases towards the front door.

Serena had already nearly tripped and fallen down the wide carpeted staircases twice, but she forced herself to keep going. She instinctively knew that her chances of escaping were slim, and she wasn't going to slow down and in effect make those chances even slimmer.

The house wasn't a house. It was a mansion, in the same décor as the bedroom, but Serena didn't have time to stop and admire it now, even though the entrance hall that she came to at the bottom of the stairs was magnificent.

The ceiling of the entrance hall towered over her head by two high stories with the landing of the second floor running around the wall on three of the four walls, all except the outer wall. There were two staircases, on either side, with more than a dozen exits from the room between the two stories. Ceiling two stories above had large thick beams that arched downwards before coming together to the centre beam that ran from the front of the entrance hall, just above the door, to the back of the room. A chandelier of glass or crystal and gold hung the centre point of the ceiling, dimly light it cast a golden glow over the room while allowing the shadows of the room to remain as dark as night.

The floor beneath her feet was gleaming polished floorboards, just as the bedroom she had woken in had been.

It was awe-inspiringly beautiful, as dreary as the rest of the mansion that she had seen, but breathtaking none-the-less.

Serena spared only a few seconds to admire the grandeur of the mansion before she found what she was looking for.

The large grand double doors that just screamed "exit" were only a few metres away. She was almost outside, halfway to freedom – a place like this had to have some kind of fence. She only preyed that it wasn't too high or that someone had left the gate open as she had no clue how to open the kind of gates that locked electronically.

She was only four feet from the doors when something big and black dropped into her path.

Serena gasped and hastily screeched to a halt to prevent herself from running into him. She only just managed to stop in time to stop short of running straight into him, and she just as narrowly managed to catch her balance on the smooth vanished hardwood floor and prevent herself from landing heavily on her butt.

In her efforts to keep her balance, Serena caught sight of where he had jumped from. Two stories up, from the landing to her right that overlooked her current position; the only possible place he could have jumped from.

Serena's eyes grew even wider – painfully wide – as she realised that he had jumped from two stories above and had landed on his feet as if he had merely jumped down from a few feet. And he had landed capably and without making a sound.

That wasn't humanly possible! Was it?

Serena didn't doubt herself anymore, at least not about what had happened in her life in the last week; she knew who he was the moment she laid eyes on his face.

It was her dark stranger, the one who'd saved her five night's ago, and who had saved her last night. He had been a wolf then; she remembered now. He had changed back into a human from the large black wolf right before her eyes.

She had been attacked by vampires and saved by a werewolf.

A royally pissed off werewolf judging by the blazing fury that lit up his stormy dark blue eyes. His entire form was tense and his jaw was clinched tightly.

Her inkling that he was angry was a moment later when she heard a deep thunderous growl from deep in the back of his throat. The sound was purely that of a severely pissed off predator whose captured prey was trying to escape him.

Movement in her peripheral vision made Serena risk taking her eyes from him as she quickly looked around her and she saw that the entrance hall was no longer deserted; she was surrounded by as many as a dozen people, mostly men, but they all carried themselves the same way as her dark saviour, leaving no doubt in her mind that they were just like her him.

Serena remembered seeing three other bigger than bear-sized wolves the night before and she found herself wondering if any of those around her were one of those three.

Darien narrowed his eyes in displeasure on his wolfmate, trying his best to contain his fuming Beast within; his Beast no more liked seeing their mate run from him than Darien did. When he spoke his growl lingered, "Where do you think you're going?"

At the ferocity in his voice, Serena found herself backing away from him in wary alarm, although some part of her mind did point out that if he had wanted to hurt her then he would have done so already, not brought her to his mansion and allowed her to sleep in a comfortable bed. Not one of them had hurt her; in fact her dark stranger had saved her life more than once.

But still Serena remained wary of all of them. They were – how it was at all possible Serena remained clueless – able to change into impossibly large wolves; they were werewolves and Serena had seen with her own eyes that they were just as deadly as the vampires who'd attacked her had been. Already she knew that both the vampires and these werewolves were superhumanly fast and strong.

And they were all extremely dangerous.

The thing was that, for some reason, she wasn't as afraid as she should be. She should have been terrified, not wary.

Serena only took a few steps back before she sensed someone right behind her and she froze. She didn't dare to look over her shoulder – she didn't want to risk taking her eyes off of her dark saviour, who was the one of them that seemed interested in her – she only hoped that she wasn't as close to one of them as it felt that she was.

"Let me go." Serena begged him, her voice a trembling whimper. It wasn't much in her nature to beg but she wanted – needed – get out of there. Most than anything, she needed to get away from the man – or whatever he was – because she knew that he was the most dangerous to her. And she didn't mean physical danger. In the night club last night she had nearly climaxed from just the memory of him touching her; she didn't want to find out what would happen if he really did touch her again. "I won't tell anyone about you. I promise."

Darien fought against the urge to snatch her up in his arms and hold onto her until all thoughts of leaving him were long gone. Forever. Instead, Darien drew in a sharp breath and ignored what he wanted; he didn't want to scare her but he couldn't let her go. She was his now, forever. "You're not going anywhere. You'll stay here."

At his words Serena instantly forgot about her fear of him. Not only had he sounded pissed off at the very idea of her asking to leave, he had actually sounded possessive! He didn't have the right to keep her here, as if he owned her.

"Like hell!" Serena snapped at him with furious defiance, forgetting her wariness altogether. "Listen here buddy, I don't know exactly who you think you are, but I'm not yours to order about! Just let me go! I want to go home."

In the space of one second to the next, her dark saviour closed the distance between them and was without warning towering over her with less than an inch of space keeping them from touching. "You _are_ home."

Serena had never felt so small or intimidated in all her life, but she refused to shrink back from him or flinch under his blazing intense stare that practically demanded her submission to him. She absolutely refused to submit to him or anyone else, she needed to stand firm and stay away from him or he would intimidate her into staying. She couldn't let that happen. Firstly, the arrogant jerk had it in his head that she was his to order about and secondly, Serena found that she was once again _way_ too aware of him. The scent she recognised from the bedroom upstairs swept around her like a smoker's cloud of pure masculine male, all forest and man and it alone was making it difficult to think against the urge to snuggle up close to him and breathe in the arousing scent that did delicious things to her all over. And the way he towered over her so dominatingly was doing more for her libido than any other guy she had ever been attracted too. He was all hard muscle beneath his black clothing, and Serena knew from personal experience that he was very capable with those large strong hands.

Hands that could kill and defend with such efficiency, what could they do in the ways of pleasure?

If she didn't get some distance between them – preferably a continent – then Serena was going to find herself wildly humping his leg like a bitch in heat.

Darien could smell her body's responses to him and he found himself fantasying about getting her back to his bed upstairs, only this time she would not be alone and she would not be sleeping. He felt himself harden uncomfortably in reaction to his mate's arousal, but he forced himself to ignore his own body's hungers. He would not overlook the fact that she was not of his world, had she been then she would already be under him, but she wasn't and he was going to have to show some patience in claiming her. She was here under his roof and that was enough for him – for now.

But his patience would only last so long, so his mate had better get it through her delicate little head that she was his and he was never going to let her go. She would learn her place here, her place being with him, but until then he would have to keep a close eye on her and prevent her from doing anything stupid that would either get her hurt or place her in grave danger.

He was going to have to have a word with his Beta's, partially the one who had let her out of his room in the first place. She had almost made it outside; as far as she had made it had been too far.

Stepping back from her, Darien turned to the mated female that was Rei's most trusted lady and female confidant. "Summer, take her back upstairs and make sure she stays there."

Summer did not hesitate to obey. The brunette Lycaon female with bronze eyes who was older than Rei by a century, approached Serena with her head slightly bowed and her hands by her side so to appear as non-threatening as possible and indicated towards Serena that she wanted Serena to precede her.

When his wolfmate made no move to comply, Darien narrowed his eyes on her. "You have no chance to escape. Go with her or I'll carry you back myself."

Her temper flared in her eyes with anger that promised retribution, a look that could only be managed by a female met his own gaze and Darien watched with great amusement as she snapped her mouth closed, clenched her fists and glared up at him like she wanted to set him on fire with her eyes alone. All that remained was for her to stomp her foot like a child throwing a tantrum. She had spirit and a temper worthy of a woman, taming her was going to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

His mouth watered at the thought.

Just when Darien thought he was going to have to carry out his threat, his precious little mate turned on her heels and stalked up the stairs as loudly and as theatrically as her tiny form could manage, all the while fury rolled off her in waves.

She stalked away like the queen she would one day be.

As the two women reached to top of the first staircase, Darien sent a mental command to Summer to feed his wolfmate.

"She's a feisty one." Jadeite commented once they were out of mortal hearing range. "For a mortal."

"Disobedient and wilful too." Darien mumbled irritably with a deep breath, reminding himself that he was going to have to be tolerant with her. It seemed that taking care of his mate and watching her was going to be a full time job. His mate had seen that she was outmatched and had decided to go back upstairs under her own power, but Darien had no doubt that she wouldn't be deterred from trying to escape from him again so easily.

"But she isn't one of us." Nephlite pointed out in a soft but deliberate tone. "She can't be your mate, Darien."

Darien sharply turned his attention to his second Beta with warning eyes. "She is. I don't know how it is possible but I know she is the one meant for me."

"She is mortal." Nephlite repeated, concern making his hard tone distinctly softer. "You attempt to change her and she will die. You are Immortal brother, should you find a way to mate with her, when she dies as will you. That is the way of the mates."

Darien didn't need to be told, for he knew it all too well, but he wasn't about to give her up over a trivial thing like mortality. "I don't care. I will have a few short decades with her in which I will know peace. Without her I am too close to the edge, I can feel it. Without her I am lost anyway."

Darien closed his eyes and basked in the peace that she made him feel just by seeing her. Peace he hadn't known since he'd been nothing more than a young pup under his parent's watchful and loving gaze.

"If a few decades are all I can have, then I will live them bathed in the joy and warmth she creates within me."

Darien didn't need for his eyes to be open to see the worried glances exchanged between his Beta's.

* * *

For the next twenty-four hours Darien forced himself to stay away from his mate. Or as away as he was prepared to go. She was safely locked in his bed chamber with two guards posted at the door, one male and one female. He had left the specific instructions that only the female guard was to enter his chambers if the situation called for her to do so. He had made it clear that no male was to enter unless absolutely necessary, but by that he meant that Serena was in mortal peril because an army of Damned had just broken into the room. He had also made it abundantly clear that she wasn't to leave his chambers for _any_ reason.

Food, and everything else she had needed, had been sent to the room within the first few hours of her waking.

Darien knew she still slept, he could hear her soft peaceful sigh-like breathing, the strong rhythmic melody that was heartbeat and the occasional rustle of bedding as she turned in her sleep.

That he knew how angelically beautiful Serena was when she slept was one of the reasons why Darien was keeping his distance from her. At least for now. He wasn't too trusting of his control around her, and he didn't want to either frighten her or introduce her into his world before she was ready. Mortal females were so much more delicate than Immortal females.

Another reason why he had practically locked in himself inside his personal library was that immediately after his mate had been returned to his chambers, an acoustic chaotic feast of crashes, thuds, bangs, shattering reverberations and colourfully screeched insults had entertained his pack for over half an hour.

Judging from the ruckus, Darien had been able to deduce that his chambers had been turned upside-down as she had thrown and destroyed things during her childish tantrum. And judging by the distinct sound of what had to be his computer monitor hitting the wall and then the sound of fabric being maliciously torn, Darien didn't hold any hopes for his computer or for his clothes that _had_ been in his closet.

Darien had made a mental note to keep her far away from his library and office.

None of his personal possessions meant anything at all to him, especially now that he had found his wolfmate, the precious gift that she was. She could bring the entire manor down on top of him, spend away every cent and dime to his name, and he would never so much as raise a hesitant protest. What he had was hers, he was more than willing to lie anything at her feet that her precious heart desired. He would conquer the world – all of them – just to see her look at him with more than anger and caution in her beautiful eyes.

His mate was so tentative, but at the same time, even though she had feared him – he knew the bitter scent of fear well – she had still refused to submit to him in the least. She had a will that he would be thrilled to see passed onto any offspring, should the Moon Goddess deem him worthy of progeny one day.

Darien couldn't help but smile at the thought. For so long he had thought himself doomed, that he would never find his mate and now here he was; with his mate beneath his roof and considering a child of his own.

A child he would adore and cherish every bit that he did his mate.

Behind him, Darien sensed someone enter the room, even though they made not a single sound. He was seated at his desk in his library, not working so much as he was working through his thoughts, which mostly revolved around his mate, whom he could hear continuously in the next room. Her breathing and heartbeat were as soothing to him as harmonious music was to the mortals.

"Have you regained yourself, brother?" Rei asked, her tone saturated with sarcasm and restrained tempter; that she was extremely displeased in him was obvious.

Darien had been expecting his sister to come to him immediately after the pack had dispersed from the entrance hall after the excitement his wolfmate had caused, but Rei hadn't. In fact Rei had waited until now, the next day, to even come near him.

Darien didn't need his heightened sense of hearing that allowed him to hear within most of the mansion to know that his house was a buzz with excitement over the newest member to their pack. There were a lot of mixed feelings about him and his mate ranging from joy that their Alpha had finally found his wolfmate, to caution and fear from what it meant that their Alpha's mate was mortal, to a frail renewal in hope that there may be reason to hope again after so long.

Slowly, Darien turned to face his sister. She was _not_ waiting patiently for his reply.

"I never lost myself, Rei."

Rei scoffed at his reply and gave him a sceptical glare. "Please, you all but stomped your foot and dragged her upstairs by her hair like some mortal caveman."

Darien gave no response, even though he had a nagging feeling that this was going to be one of those times when his remarkably preceptive sister was going to be right and as a result would demand an apology to be paid.

The silence stretched between them until Rei drew in a deep calming breath and her eyes visibly softened. "Jadeite showed me everything. You saved her life. _If_ you ever manage to remain in the same room with her without provoking her with your domineering pride, she will thank you. Even mortals are not above showing their gratitude for saving them, but you need to soften your approach towards her if you want her to stay."

Darien's fierce will and even fiercer temper flared to life in his dark eyes. The thought of her leaving him was inconceivable to him. "She _will_ stay!"

"Because you hold her here, not because it is her choice." Rei closed the distance between them, walking up to the large polished wood desk her brother sat behind, never looking away from her his hard blazing gaze. "She is not of our world. She knows nothing of our ways. You _need_ to remember that. Try explaining the situation to her calmly instead of acting like a wild territorial animal."

Darien knew the soft imploring tone was born out of love and concern for him, but before he could admit her that she just _may_ be right, someone approached the door, making no effort at all to quieten their hasty steps, and knocked loudly.

"Enter." Darien called passed his sister through the closed door.

A moment later, the doors opened and a male Lycaon of his pack entered. "My Lord." He greeted with a swift respectful bow of his head.

This Lycaon was one of the pack's greatest hunters and warriors, outside of Darien himself and his Beta's. His name was Talc and he often went out of his way to prove his loyalty and willingness to serve his Alpha and the pack. Darien saw many qualities in Talc that would make him a great leader given the chance. They had fought together in many battles for centuries; Talc's loyalty and respect for him, his prince and Alpha, had aided him in maintaining control over his Beast within for near of three centuries. Talc held on because of his Alpha's example of inner strength.

Outside of the Beta's and his own family, Talc was the member of his pack that Darien trusted the most; even if something did happen to himself, Darien knew that Talc would serve and protect the pack as avidly as he did now.

Unfortunately, Talc had yet to find his mate and for too long the signs that his Beast was starting to overshadow the man within were growing more noticeable with each passing month. Talc was of strong body and will, but without a mate he would undoubtedly turn within the next five years.

Darien always knew how close an Immortal was to turning, he couldn't pin it to the day, but he always knew when it was close. He had to know, for the sake of his pack and now his mate. As Alpha it fell to him to keep his pack safe; it was his duty to "deal" with those who posed a threat, even if that threat came from within.

Darien had already accepted – although it was in no way his will or wish – that within a few years, Talc would become too far gone and Darien would no longer allow him near Serena or any other female. Sadly females were the first to be attacked by those who were turning or had recently turned, the damned souls driven mad by their bloodthirsty desperation to have a mate.

Once an Immortal was on the cusp of turning, only one's true mate could pull them back from the brink, but once an Immortal crossed that line and drank human lifeblood and became of the Damned, then nothing could bring them back. Nothing could make them as they had been before.

It was the fate of all who did not find their one true mate. Darien had been well aware that that would have been his fate had he not found Serena. So, mortal or not, Serena was his salvation and whatever time he had with her he would treasure.

Darien fought the smile that threatened to spread across his lips. He understood Talc's turmoil all too well, and he wished Talc, and every other struggling Lycaon, a mate, mortal or immortal, either way the salvation was the same.

Talc stood tall and proud before him, showing no evidence of the inner war he was forced to fight every moment of every day. "Prince Andrew of the Anami Clan has arrived at our gates. He requests an audience with you."

Darien's eyes narrowed in suspicious thought. Andrew was a prince and Anami, who weren't as animalistic as Lycaon kind. The Anami were far more sophisticated and refined as they weren't at the mercy of their impulses as the Lycaon kind were. Because of this it had always been Andrew's way to announce his intention of visiting before he even left his own mansion.

There was only one thing that could have brought Andrew to the Lycaon Manor without first giving the notice the Anime deemed _civilised_.

Darien silently nodded his consent and Talc bowed his head low to him as he left the room, closing the door soundlessly behind him.

Darien was in his library and his mate slumbered in the next room. A single wall that any Immortal could break through like wet tissue paper was not enough to appease him. He needed more between the Anami and his mate.

Although Darien knew that his best and most trusted friend outside of his pack would never harm anyone in his pack unjustly, let alone his mate, Darien was in no mood to take any chances with his salvation.

Darien dismissed his sister, making it clear with a look that he wanted her too keep away. Not for her safety, Andrew would no more harm Rei than he would Darien himself, but because she had irritated him enough for now.

Sensing and hearing the gates of manor's ground swing open – silently to mortal ears – Darien moved swiftly through the halls, down wide a staircase, and entered his main office. Here he was still close enough to his mate to hear her clearly or get to her quickly if she needed his protection, while he was further enough away that he would be able to stop Andrew or any of Andrew's own before they could get to her.

This office, his main office, was used mainly to address pack business, handle and oversee his various companies and other assorted means of monetary income for the pack, and the odd business meeting that had to be held at the manor for one reason or another. Although Darien disliked bringing outsiders to the manor, especially mortals who had no idea who or what he really was, but sometimes it was just unavoidable.

Barely thirty seconds later, the doors opened and Andrew entered, flanked by Darien's Beta's. Andrew had left his own entourage outside manor walls in this instance, which he did not normally do – Andrew's coven was as welcome here as Darien himself was in Andrew's mansion. Besides, there was no danger for the Anami Prince here unless he himself became a danger to them.

They had both fought for this peace between their two races for too long for either to risk their friendship and the treaty.

But circumstances had changed since Serena had entered his life, and his manor, and Andrew knew his well enough to know that. Andrew had come inside alone, leaving his Beta's outside, because of their friendship and trust.

But still, Darien's Beast howled at him, warning him against allowing another male – and an Anami – into the manor while Serena was there.

Darien remained unusually watchful and tense in Andrew's presence even as he presented his Anami friend with a welcoming smile. Darien knew why his Anami friend had come, he had been expecting him – maybe not quite this soon – and he was welcome too; Serena presented as much hope for new possibilities for the Anami race just as much as she did for the Lycaon race.

"Andrew, it is a pleasure to see you my friend," Darien greeted cordially as he extended his hand. As much as he wanted to get straight to the heart of the matter, he had been raised a prince and in the presence of other royalty he would always be well-mannered – at least until they gave him reason not to be. "It's been weeks since you've graced the manor."

Andrew returned a half-hearted smile in return and took Darien's hand but released it without shaking it. "It has been much longer since you have graced my mansion."

And then Andrew dropped all pretence of formality. His expression became ardent, and hopeful. "Is it true, my friend? Has a mortal been claimed as your bondmate?"

Darien made no attempt to hide the truth from him, for the discovery of a mortal mate was significant to all Immortal kind, and Andrew had his trust. "Yes. I do not know how this is possible, but have no doubt, she _is my_ rightful mate." He did not try to keep the hint of warning from entering his eyes that came straight from his beast, although he did hold back to accompanying warning growl.

Andrew had never received such a look from his friend before, not even when they were enemies and had met on the battlefield. Such a look was often associated with males in regards to their mate's safety and wellbeing and Andrew knew it – if this mortal woman had been his instead, Andrew would have been no different, no less overprotective or cautious with her safety.

Andrew bowed his head ever so slightly and stepped back, a clear pacifying gesture and demonstration of submission in the Lycaon way. "Is there anything to explain what makes this mortal so unique?"

"No." Although Darien wished that he could find something, something that could be used to identify others of Serena's kind; if there were any. It wasn't beyond the possibility that Serena was the only one of her kind. "I have tasted her blood. There is no trace of anything Immortal, or anything unique about her in that respect."

Andrew was thoughtful for a long silent minute, before he turned his attention and his gaze back to him. His tone he used was even and careful, as if he knew he was walking upon hazardous ground. "Blood is not the specialty of the Lycaon kind. It would be wise to allowed me to taste her for myself."

Violent warning flared in Darien's dark eyes and it took every ounce of his control that had been built over millennia to keep from growling at the Anami prince. As it was he knew warning fire flared to life in his eyes, promising death to all who defied him, to any who brought _any_ harm to his mate.

Normally when he was around Andrew, Darien had always tried to act far more good-mannered than he truly was. "I tasted her blood to heal a wound. There will never again be reason for her to bleed outside of nature's way."

Andrew was hesitant, but he pressed non-the-less, although very cautiously. This matter was of too important to allow the fearsome tempter of the Lycaon Prince to make him hold his tongue. "You know I would never harm any of your own, my friend. It was merely a suggestion, but surely you must see the importance of exploring the mystery that is imbedded in her very being? My _suggestion_-."

"-shall be taken under advisement." Darien curtly interrupted through his teeth, making it abundantly clear that the unspoken warning was final.

Andrew regarded him for a long time before glancing briefly to his Beta's, who had wisely stayed out of the conversation, and he turned his focus back to Darien. "I have lived as long as you have, my friend. I have yet to see a mate so overly protective, even by Immortal standards."

"She is my mate." Never had words more certain escaped Darien's lips, and Andrew recognised his words for what they were; the dead certain words of a self-confident crown prince.

"She is mortal in our world," Darien stated, "and she is even now in far more danger than any female of our kind has ever been. I will take no chances with her. She is not only my mate and possibly the one destined to bare the next of the royal line of the Lycaon race; she is also new hope for all Immortal kind. If mates can be born of the mortal world in which females are plenty, then our races may have a chance of survival."

Andrew had already considered that, long before entering the gates of the Lycaon estate; in a matter of days a lot had come to rest on the shoulders of this one mortal woman. But it had also crossed Andrew's mind that if she was not all that they hoped she was, then this mortal woman could very well be the final metaphorical nail in the coffin of the Immortal races.

Hope could be as dangerous and damning as it could be life-affirming if proven to be false.

"But if not, then she is the destruction of a prince and much needed warrior in these desolate and desperate times, especially with Diamond growing more powerful with each passing year. So many are loosing hope and falling to the Darkness." Falling to the Darkness was the Anami term for falling into Damnation; the Darkness was what Anami called _their_ Beasts. "You are needed now more than ever."

Andrew raised his arm, indicating to the top of the west wall, beyond which one floor up Serena dwelled, still locked in Darien's own bed chamber.

"She is mortal; there is no known way to change her state without risking her life. She will live, at best, a century and then what will befall you?"

"Death." Darien stated without pause or compunction.

"My point exactly."

"She is my mate!" Darien all but thundered in his friend's face, his Beast straining against the hold Darien held on him; the Beast within him was itching for a fight – one which Darien was tempted to allow; it was only centuries of friendship that kept him from unleashing his Beast upon the Anami Crown Prince. "I will not be without her for one more moment!"

Andrew allowed a long moment of silence to pass between then, so Darien could regain himself, before he spoke again.

"As your people cannot be without you." Andrew sighed with regret, his words earnest and beseeching, even though he knew that no words would ever convince Darien to part with his mate, or outlive her.

Andrew decided a change in subject might be a better course. Lycaon kind knew no concession when it came to their mates; in that the Lycaon and the Anami kind were very similar. "And what of Diamond? If word of her has reached my ears then it will be but hours more at best before it reaches his. When Diamond learns of her he will come for her with all the strength and force of his Damned Army. Bringing her into the night has made her the most coveted creature in all of creation." He paused for a single heartbeat, and then asked inquisitively, "What have your parents to say of this?"

Darien waved his hand dismissively. "I have greater concerns than my parents. What's more they cannot change what I have done or decided. She wasn't safe any longer in the mortal world. Saving her a second time and leaving her would have condemned her. With my scent on her flesh and word of my infatuation bound to spread, Serena would have been hunted without my constant protection. My pack is enough to protect her for now. If I must I will send for more forces from my father, but no Damned, Diamond or otherwise, is getting anywhere near her."

Andrew could see that the Lycaon prince, a man he had known for centuries and had come to call trusted friend, was obviously beyond reason when it came to the subject of his mate. It did occur to Andrew that Darien could very well be so touchy because he had already had this pointed out to him by his own, but Andrew was not going to let this go, at least not for long. When it came to one's mate it was extremely difficult to look beyond. Darien was the prince of his kind; he had responsibilities and duties that extended beyond his mate.

Andrew allowed the change of topic. "What of the other packs of this continent? Can you not send for them?"

"With word of my mortal mate, many of them will come of their own accord." Darien looked out the window, thankful for the increase of Lycaon numbers in his immediate territory. "Either to witness her with their own eyes or to protect her as many will potentially see her as the first new dawn of hope our race has known for millennia."

"And ours also."

Darien turned back to the Anami Prince, surprised and a little suspicious.

Correctly interpreting Darien's expression, Andrew held up his hands in a mean-no-harm gesture. "Fear not, my friend. I do not mean her specifically, but what she is. If a mortal mate can be given to one of your race, maybe there can be such a hope for us." He bowed his head respectfully to the Lycaon Prince, "You have my word, my friend. She will be protected by my coven, as surely as she is by yours. I will dispatch a unit here at once. They will be yours to command. Should you need more, or my personal aid, all you have to do is say so."

Darien nodded his head silent in thanks. Normally his pride would not allow have allowed outside help from the Anami to protect his own mate, but he was prepared to overlook it this once – pride ran deep in the Lycaon race – for Serena's sake.

Darien was not a fool; he knew what his friend and fellow prince was trying to say, but he hadn't needed too for Darien knew it all too well.

Serena could just as easily be the harbinger of their Damnation as she could be their salvation.

* * *

Andrew departed a few hours later, an hour before the sky would begin to brighten with the first rays of dawn, and Darien found himself in his own chambers watching his mate as she once again slept soundly in his bed.

His room was so completely trashed – as the mortals would say – that Darien was purposefully not looking at anything but her. Honestly, the room would've looked better if versatile explosives had been detonated within it. Wisely his wolfmate had left the bed untouched by her destructive tempter, leaving her a place to sleep, while very little else had been shown the same mercy.

When she was awake, Serena was a force of will that tried his patience and tested his self-discipline, and she had a spitfire tongue that rivalled even that of his sister's, but when she slept she seemed so delicate and innocent, so much like child. She slept peacefully, appearing even smaller in his humongous bed and thick fluffy covers. Her expression as serene and calm, her breathing soft and even and her golden hair sprawled around her, draped over the mountain of pillows, like an aura of golden summer sunlight.

Her scent – sunlight, vanilla, milk and honey – was the sweetest most intoxicating scent he had ever known; he wanted to drown himself in it. He wanted her sweet untainted scent to soak into him and become imbedded in his very pores.

Darien knew her scent now, so deeply that it was a part of him. He would always be able to track her no matter how fast or how far she ran. Not that he would let her; soon enough she would know why she had to stay and it wasn't only because her life would be forever more in danger from his enemies.

He, more than anything, wanted her to want to stay. She belonged with him, at his side for as long as they both lived. Their life-forces were one now, interwoven so tightly that he would never be able to live without her, and when she learned to love him as her mate, she wouldn't be able to live without him either. Not that he wished for her death, he would die for her but he would do so knowing that she would live on. If he had too, he would eventually make her promise him that she would never do anything to endanger or harm herself, even if he was lost.

Even though he could never make the same promise in return.

Darien sighed heavily, closed his eyes and bowed his head. Everything was so complicated over one detail; his mate was mortal. She was so soft and small and defenceless; Immortal females weren't as physically strong as Immortal males were, but they were still near a hundred times stronger than a mortal man. They were able to fight to protect themselves and they healed quickly. Immortal females were physically weaker than Immortal males, as it was in nature, but they still were able to put up a fight and take what the males had to give – not that any would dare to harm a female other than the Damned.

Serena couldn't. She couldn't even flee, not with an Immortal on her heels. She was defenceless in his world, even though she had a will and a temper that rivalled this planet's worst hurricanes. If an enemy got anywhere near her, she would be dead in an instant, taken from him forever.

And knowing that, terrified him. Already Serena was as precious to him as Rei was; more so than his very existence.

He HAD to keep her protected and safe, and if making her a prisoner in his manor was what it took, then so be it.

Unable to keep away from her a moment more, Darien silently walked around to the side of the bed on which his mate slumbered and he gently sat down on the bed and half turned his body to gaze down at her.

His wolfmate was far more beautiful and feisty than he ever could have dreamed. Of course he had seen women with greater outer beauty in many various forms, but there was something about her that outshone them all; an inner beauty that made her shine brighter than the full moon in a black starless sky.

Deep down, Darien knew that Serena did not belong in his hostile world of darkness and despair, but unless he had no other choice at all, he couldn't let her go. If she had merely been _his_ only hope, and she would be safe then maybe, just maybe, he would have had the strength to watch her walk away from him, but he was the prince of his kind and an Alpha; she was reason for his people to hope.

Careful not to disturb her, Darien picked up a strand of golden hair from the bed that was so thick it filled his hand and held it.

Oh, by the Goddess! The strands were like warm silky wisps of water creasing his flesh. Each strand smelled of her and the shampoo she used – the wild jasmine shampoo that Rei favoured that she had given Serena when he'd had some personal items delivered to her.

The urge to rub the strands of hair against his face – and other places that would start something that his unsuspecting mortal mate _definitely_ wasn't ready for – was almost unbearable. He hadn't known these levels of difficulty in maintaining his hold on his control since he'd been an inexperienced adolescent over nine hundred years ago.

For so long Darien had waited for her, and he was thankful for her right down to the very essence of his Immortal being, but trust the Moon Goddess to continue to test him in giving him a mate he had to continue to wait for.

For every ounce of mercy the Moon Goddess supplied, so was a grain of salt given.

* * *

Something was stirring her from her sleep, even though her slowly waking mind told her that it was still dark out.

Serena wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back into the blissful abyss of peaceful oblivion, but whatever was pulling her into consciousness was sounding an alarm bell; one that was telling her that she had to wake up as she was no longer alone.

Grudgingly, but knowing she had to heed that little voice, Serena pulled herself from her dreams and allowed the awareness of her senses to reconnect to her consciousness.

There was nothing but silence greeting her ears and even though Serena didn't open her eyes she knew it was still dark around her as no black orange golden shadows of light swirled beneath her closed eyelids. Her sense of touch and smell told her that she was still resting in the impossibly soft large bed – that she hadn't had the heart to destroy when she'd been delivering her vengeance down upon her captor's possessions. The only irritating thing about sleeping in the bed that had to be softer than the clouds of heaven was that she knew without doubt that it was _his_ bed. She could smell him here in and around the bed more than in the entire room in general.

And then the reason for the alarm bell hit her smack in the face and her eyes snapped open, going wide, and Serena was instantly awake and alert.

The mattress beneath her had been _sloping_ downwards on one side; the way a mattress did when someone heavier than her was sitting on it. She was slopping down sidewards because _he_ was sitting on the bed beside her, staring down at her with him piercing intense gaze that did things to her that made her curse at her traitorous hormonal body.

With a startled cry, Serena bolted upright and used the momentum to leap away from him and across the bed.

That had been the plan anyway.

What Serena hadn't realised in time was that he was holding a chunk of her hair in his hand, and even though her hair was long she wasn't Rapunzel for crying out loud! She made it a full metre – which only put her in the middle of the bed – before her hair was pulled tight.

Serena cried out in pain at the sharp jarring pain that spanned half of her scalp and she dropped down onto the mattress in mid-leap.

Automatically, Serena grasped hold of her hair tightly in hand to both ease the pressure and the pain and to yank her hair free from his grip as she rose awkwardly on the soft mattress to her knees.

Without warning, as she yanked on her hair, her hair came free and Serena found herself flying backwards. Since she had been putting both her strength and her body weight behind the yank, Serena found herself flying backwards through the air with more force than she normally would have and that was why she hit the other end of the bed with enough momentum to bounce her back up into the air, the momentum continuing to send her flying backwards.

Serena reached out desperately to grasp the sheet but it was too late; she was going to hit the floor at a painful awkward angle. She wasn't going to die or anything, but it was going to hurt! Not only was the bed huge, it also had the added quirk of being unusually _high_.

Serena closed her eyes and waited for her painful jarring impact with the hardwood floor.

"Precision isn't your gift, is it?" Inquired a familiar – and very amused – voice from above her.

Serena opened her eyes to find that she wasn't on the floor at an awkward angle as she'd expected herself to be, but rather she was still horizontal, even though from her hips upwards she was laying over empty air – while looking up into a pair of dark blue eyes that were twinkling with genuine amusement.

Now that she was no longer bracing herself for impact of pain, Serena could feel warm steel braced under her shoulders and with a startled silent gasp she realised that it was his hands!

How in the hell had he gotten over to the other side of the bed so fast that he'd caught her as if he'd been there ready to catch her the entire time?

Never mind, Serena told herself as she dismissed the unspoken question a moment later. She knew. She didn't know how it was possible, but she knew. She'd had two days to think about her situation and what had happened to her over the passed five days -.

- god he had a handsome face! The kind that was said to have been sculpted by angels. Serena knew her thoughts had just jumped with the abruptness of lightening in mid-thought, but she couldn't bring herself to remember the horrors she'd gone through in this past week. Not when she was so close to him, _in_ his hold, staring up into his gorgeous face that was so close to hers that she could feel his warm sweetly intoxicating breath on her face. His face was flawless, without a single freckle or wrinkle, his skin was tanned so evenly that it couldn't be anything else but natural, and his deep blue eyes were twinkling with amusement that made him seem less imitating by more than half.

And then there was his body and by god, what a body it was. Serena could feel his hands spread across her back. His hands were so big that they _cupped_ her shoulders, his fingers almost meeting between her shoulder blades; Serena instinctively knew they were hands skilful in many things. He held her weight as if she weighed no more than a down pillow and his scent made her think of wild untamed predators and hot passionate love-making deep in the forbidden woods; the masculine musky scent that made her think only of forbidden carnal things was so intoxicating that it was making her head spin.

Unable to help herself, Serena drew in a deep breath, filling her lungs and drowning her senses in his scent that was as potent to her as if he'd been drenched in concentrated pheromones. He smelled like the forest, man and raw sex. This was a man who was capable in all things physical and for a moment she actually considered crawling back onto the bed and begging him to join her.

But if she did, what would he do? Would he take her up on her offer, and if he did would he be as fierce and as intensely passionate as he seemed to always be in her company or would he surprise her by being slow and gentle?

Serena shuddered in his hold, but she made no move to act on her lustful thoughts.

"Are you hurt?"

And just like that, the spell was broken and reality bit her on the ass.

Ignoring his now caring and concerned and everything else that should have been outlawed for the sake of women everywhere eyes, Serena began to struggle against his hold on her even though in her current position she knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do.

Her dark handsome protector chuckled, amusement returning to his eyes, and the next thing Serena knew, she was flying upwards through the air for a brief moment before she landed on her stomach in the middle of the bed facing in the other direction.

Too wary around her dark protector slash captor to keep her eyes off him for a second longer than she had too, Serena bolted up onto her knees once again and whirled to face him. He was watching her with amusement and something else, something new and different, in his eyes, something that made his eyes appear darker.

Serena was irritated and frustrated that she was amusing him so thoroughly that she felt liquid fire flood her veins and she exploded, finally at her limits – with him.

"Bloody hell!" Serena snapped at him, "Who the hell are you that you can't do anything normally like everyone else?!"

Of course, he didn't answer her. He only continued to stare at her with his intense watchful eyes as his chuckling died down.

Serena took the opportunity his moment of distraction presented and looked him over from head to toe.

Before she had drifted off the sleep last night, a memory had flashed through Serena's mind. It hadn't been clear because at the time she had been terrified and more than a little out of it, but she had remembered a name. One of her attackers from the second attack had called her dark wolf saviour by a name; by his name.

Darien.

It suited him. A normal common name like John or Steve never would have matched him.

Not this man, if he even really was a man.

Apart from Darien's piercing dark blue eyes that alone could probably make most women start stripping before he'd even spoken a word and thick black locks that you could lose a hand in – not to mention his tall muscled build that Heaven's warrior angels would be envious of – the most noticeable features about him were his commanding domineering presence, his raw sex appeal and the sense of danger that hung around him like a bad cologne he'd bathed in. Anyone with the bad luck to be in his presence would have an instant overwhelming reaction; men would be wary and intimidated by him, easily recognising him as the natural top dog, the man in charge, one who was dangerous and shouldn't be underestimated. While women were still intimidated but their first reaction to him had to be the instant urge to remove their underwear. The man was lethal and oozed raw wild jungle sex like he ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Serena had seen proof of just how dangerous he was. He had saved her life twice now from dangerous supernatural foes and he had come through it without a scratch.

Not to mention that it seemed that he could turn himself into a wolf the size of a family car.

"Thank you."

Serena startled even herself, so deeply buried in one part of her mind that she hadn't even been aware of another part of her mind sending the word to her lips. She looked into his dark eyes and saw that fascinated confusion had consumed his face. He seemed both surprised and unsure as to why she had thanked him.

"For what?" He asked her, softly. The surprise was gone; in its place was genuine curiosity.

"For saving me," As an after thought, Serena added, "twice."

His smile stole the air from her lungs and almost made her whimper in desire. She felt so hot and achy and tingly all over, in ways that were unfamiliar to her and it scared her. The man was dangerous and it had very little to do with the fact that he was a werewolf. He was so overwhelming, so intense, that she just couldn't handle it; she couldn't handle _him_.

"I would say that it is my pleasure," Darien replied in a sultry voice. "But it's more than that."

Swallowing against the lump in her throat and the butterflies in her stomach, Serena tried to snap herself out of it. She failed before she even tried, so she instead turned her full focus to her confusion. The way he had phrased his response had been strange.

"More?"

Serena expected him to explain his statement, but instead she watched as Darien walked slowly around the bed, never taking his intense eyes from her, until he was at the foot of the bed. He placed his hand on the high footboard and regarded her with interest, as if wanting to have the best view of her.

What was with him? He kept looking at her like he couldn't believe she was real. There was something about his gaze that almost felt as if he had waited for her and now that she was there he couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that she was.

Was that why she was still there? He had the hots for her or something?

That didn't quite fit. That night that she'd tried to make a run for it, he'd said that she was to stay here, that she was _home_.

If she hadn't seen him turn from a wolf to a man then she would've believed he was a complete nutcase, but maybe she was the nutcase. Here she was, in the house – that was more like a mansion – of a werewolf who kept looking at her like he was the big bad wolf who wanted to eat her up like she was Little Red Riding Hood, and refused to let her leave. The only thing that kept her from losing her mind from fear right now was that it had become clear to her that it didn't seem to be his intention to hurt her. He'd fought for her and had saved her life twice on two separate occasions . . .

Wait a minute. Serena's eyes narrowed as she ran through the two separate events. The first time he'd saved her, he'd appeared out of the darkness – a few seconds too late for her taste – and he'd slayed three vampires before he'd even given her any notice. The second time however, he'd appeared just in the nick of time and hadn't as much as slayed her attackers for the sake of killing them because they were evil than he'd fought to protect her. The entire second encounter had been about protecting her; that had been made obvious when he'd placed himself squarely between her and the bad creepy Vampires, viscously and warningly growling at them like they'd just attacked his mother.

Serena could understand how he had happened across her the first time. It was understandable as now that she thought about it Darien must have been hunting or tracking them or something. But that second time . . . it had been the second time in four days in a different part of town in an alley way behind a loud nightclub?

Either someone in the Heaven's above _really_ liked her, or somehow Darien had known that she'd been in danger.

"How did you know?" Serena asked him, her expression morphing into one of suspicion and wariness.

Darien visibly became serious and guarded at the change in her demeanour, and he regarded her carefully, speaking just as carefully, as if considering every word and action so not to be caught out on anything he didn't want to be.

Like someone who had something to hide from her.

"Know what?"

"That I was in trouble that night at the club." Serena searched the facts for a reasonable explanation because she really didn't want to face the most obvious one. "Being attacked by-." She swallowed thickly; she hadn't been able to say the world out loud yet. "-_ vampires_ can't be _that_ common. You killed the ones who attacked me that first night, so unless there was someone who wanted revenge for them, which doesn't seem that likely since none of the others who attacked me the second time even mentioned then other than saying that I'd escaped death that night. I don't know why I was attacked a second time in four days, but regardless of that," Serena stared straight into his eyes, searching for the truth, "how did you know that I was going to be attacked that second time?"

Darien waited a brief while before he answered her, but there was nothing telling in his eyes when he spoke. "The scent of the _vampires_," – for some reason the term seemed to amuse him – "and myself was left on your skin. Other Immortals could smell it-."

"I showered!" Serena protested defensively. She showered every night unless something prevented her, which there hadn't been in over a month. She had even showered that night the vampires had first attacked.

"Regardless, the scent remained. Once marked, the scent of Immortals that is only able to be detected by Immortals, remains for weeks." Darien explained steadily, as if he were explaining himself to a child. "A kind of toxin is released into your blood and skin when an Immortal feeds, even when I used my saliva to heal your wound, I left something lingering on your flesh and in your wound."

A terrifying thought snaked its way into her unprepared mind and Serena wanted to throw up as an icy hand of dread and terror wrapped itself around her heart and tightened, then it squeezed her stomach too for good measure. "Does that mean I'm going to become one of you?"

Darien was shaking his head before she even finished asking her question. "No. First off, you didn't receive anywhere near enough venom for that to happen. It's a myth that a mortal can be turned by just being bitten by an Immortal. Fluid exchange is needed, one way or the other, depending on the race of the Immortal."

_Fluid exchange_?! Why did she have the feeling that he wasn't just taking about a blood transfusion?

"Second," he went on, either not noticing her moment of distraction or ignoring it. "A mortal can't be changed into an Immortal. Immortals are born, not turned."

Serena knew she shouldn't ask because she feared the answer, but her curiosity was roused. "What happens if it's tried?"

Darien looked unblinkingly into the eyes of his mate, knowing that a whole lot of conflicting emotions were flickering in his eyes as he considered her and her fate. "The mortal dies. There has never been an exception in all recorded Immortal history."

Oh, Serena felt a little dismayed; she didn't like that she was finding everything he was telling her so intriguing. She wasn't normal; a normal girl being kept in a werewolf's mansion should have been terrified, but no, she was _intrigued._

At least it was a relief that she wasn't going to turn into a werewolf or a vampire, or so Serena kept telling herself.

Needing a distraction from that line of thought, Serena realised that they'd wondered off topic. "So, back to the original question, how did you know? I get it that you could still be smelt on me-." Boy did _that_ sounded suggestive! Moving on. "- and I remember my attackers the other night mentioning they could smell it on me that I'd been bitten, that's why I ran, but how did you _know_?"

With a brief pause and an obvious mental shrug, Darien answered her, all the while giving her a meaningful look. "Something happened the first time I laid eyes on you, and I know you felt it too; you just don't know what it means. My people know it; most pray for it to happen to them."

There was weight and significance to his words, Serena sensed that what he was telling her was very important. To him.

"In our world, each Immortal is born to be the mate of another," Darien went on, keeping his tone even and steady. "There is no one else for them and until they find each other there is no peace for either of them. There is a darkness – we call it our Beast – that cannot be soothed without one's true wolfmate. No one else will do, it's like two parts of the one soul is born into the world, destined to find each other, to become whole, and until the soul is whole again the Beast within rages. Wolfmates are bonded, for life. They become a part of each other so profoundly that if one dies, so does the other. When mates find each other, they know it instantly and from that day onward they cannot part without dying."

Serena had a dreading horrible suspicion that she knew where this was going; she'd heard him the other night even though at the time she hadn't listened.

And then Darien looked straight into her eyes and said in a deadpan tone, "You, Serena, are my wolfmate." Then he walked around to the other side of the bed and looked down at her with conviction in his powerfully intense penetrating eyes. "And I'm never going to let you go. I've waited for you all my life."

Serena was so far out of touch with reality that her vision was starting to blur as she tried to wrap her mind around _that_! She could deal with the werewolves and the vampires trying to kill her, but not _this_!

This . . . this . . . this force of nature thought that _she_ was _his mate_?! Oh, hell no! She couldn't handle college guys for crying out loud, and he wanted her to handle _him_?! The man who, when face to face with whatever god resided in the afterlife, would tell him that he was in charge now?! She could barely remain coherent around him for two minutes, and he wanted her to be around him for the rest of her life?!

Forget it!

And what about her say in all of this?! She had never been the type to lie down and be ordered about! And she wasn't going to start now. He was just going to have to realise how really really wrong he was and let her go.

"You were stalking me, weren't you?!" Serena accused as it all fell into place. It was the only way he'd been able to be there to save her that night. Everything was falling into place, like that one piece of the puzzle being slid into place that made the whole image become clear.

"I knew you were my wolfmate the first time I saw you, but I also knew that as a mortal, who had just been terrified out of her mind when you'd been attacked by creatures you believed weren't real. So I gave you a few days to gather yourself, but I was always there watching you; from sunset to sunrise. I watched and protected you, as I will for as long as my heart beats."

Serena couldn't bear it any longer. She couldn't stand him towering over her looking down at her as if he believed every word he was saying. Scrambling away from him – this time making sure that he didn't have a hold on her hair – she jumped to her feet, but kept the bed between them, grateful for some distance separating them.

She was no one's mate, and if she ever was, it would be by her choosing, not _his_! As tempting as it was to fall into this sexy man's arms and just let him take care of her, Serena loved her independence and her life and she wasn't about to give it up for anyone, not even someone she owed her life too twice over.

"I don't know what you think is going on here, but let me clue you in," Serena glared at him, her tone as sharp as a fighter's blade, as she reached for her jacket; it was cold in the mansion and it would be even colder outside. "I don't care what you think I am, I'm going home, while you are going to focus really hard on not stalking me anymore!"

"Oh really? Is that what you think is going be?"

Something about his tone made Serena look up at him as a wary uneasy feeling spread through her. His tone was too cocky, too arrogant; his tone was downright mocking!

Darien now stood with his arms crossed at his broad hard chest and was looking at her with a partly amusement, partly daring expression on his ridiculously handsome face.

Serena recognised that look for what it was; the arrogant stubborn smug expression of a spoiled crown prince! Darien was a man who was so accustomed to getting his own way that no one else's wants or opinions even occurred to him.

"You're staying. I'm not even allowing you out of this room without me with you."

Serena eyed her dark saviour with fierce tempter in her eyes. "Are you telling me I really am a prisoner here?!"

He just continued to stare her down, not even blinking. "You are my mate. You belong here. You are staying. Here you are safe and protected. As long as there is any danger to you, you will remain under my protection, but if you need or want for anything, you only need to speak of it. You will have everything that is at my disposal to give."

Serena gritted her teeth to keep from screaming at him; she hadn't missed the whole _'I-am-a-big-strong-man-who-can-provide-for-you_ implication in his little speech. What she really hated was how her inner primeval female side responded to the you-Jane-me-Tarzan.

By God, this man was so charismatic and alluring that he called out to everything female inside of her. If she wasn't constantly fighting him there was little doubt in Serena's mind that she would have been throwing herself at him.

Fortunately Serena had had plenty of practice at dealing with her hormones; she was a former teenager after all. So she did was she had always done; she ignored them.

"I want my freedom." Serena told him.

He regarded her like a patient father would his temper tantrum throwing child that he was indulging. "Do you want to keep your life? You are known in this now; news of you has already spread throughout the entire county. There is no place you'll be safe except here with me with my pack to protect you."

Serena's eyes narrowed into slits as she processed what he said and translated the meaning. Her reply came through her gritted teeth with all the warmth of Neptune. "So I _am_ your prisoner."

"_You_ are my mate." Darien amended with emphasis on the first word.

Serena screeched in sheer frustration through her teeth, she wanted to throw something. She wanted to hit something – with him at the top of the list! Yes, she'd gotten it that they were werewolf like creatures, but that didn't mean that he could do this to her!

Darien was becoming aroused by her outburst; life and fury making her eyes blaze with life and will, her entire face and neck were flushed and her tiny rigid feminine body was the most erotic thing he'd seen in all his long centuries. He wanted her, ached for her, there was no doubt about that, he hungered for her more than he had ever hungered for anything in all his existence, and that included blood during his recently passed dark days.

But sadly, now was not the time. She would come to grips with the truth soon enough. She couldn't deny what was right there in front of her, no matter how hard she tried. He would be patient – for now – and then he would reap the rewards.

For now, Darien would leave her be before he did something far from honourable; it also wouldn't hurt for her to calm down and think about what he'd said. Maybe next time she would be much more appreciative of all he had done for her.

"By the way."

Serena turned around to see that her dark pain-in-the-ass arrogant jerk was no longer standing by the bed watching as she fumed. He was halfway out the door, waiting patiently for her attention.

"The name's Darien."

And the door closed and locked behind him.

Serena bent down and picked up the first thing she laid her hand on – a black leather boot that had come from his now empty closest – and threw it with all her strength at the door wishing it had been him she was aiming at.

But despite her anger at him, the errant thought that she'd been right in assuming Darien was his name ran through her head.

Feeling impotent and even more enraged, Serena did the only thing she could do; she threw herself on the bed and screamed into the pillow that was soaked with Darien's intoxicating scent.

* * *

Darien needed to run after dealing with his mate. She was so frustrating and wilful, but what he really needed to work off was the lingering arousal that lingered from her adorable little tantrum.

It was scarcely an hour until full light and even though his kind suffered no effects from the sun's rays, daylight hours were their most vulnerable; day was when the mortals ruled the earth while the Immortals had the night. That was the unspoken treaty that had come to be long ago, but Darien was willing to risk being seen.

He needed to let his Beast loose away from his mate.

In his wolf form, Darien ran the estate's perimeter, as he did when he was restless, checking the heart of his territory for any sign or scent of intruders. He had his vulnerable mortal mate to protect now; he would run the perimeter much more often.

After his conversation with his wolfmate, a few things had become clear that Darien needed to think hard about and he thought best when he ran wild and free as a wolf.

The most immediate was the protection and security of his wolfmate. Before he had left, Darien had ordered two of his pack's females, both of whom he trusted, to take his mate into his personal library next door while his bedchamber was cleaned and put to rights. He had of course made it clear to the females that his wolfmate wasn't allowed to repeat her tantrum in his library that she had in his bedchamber. Some of the tomes in his library were records of his people's history and were millennia old.

The next on Darien's list was the wooing of said wolfmate. He was more than experienced with the opposite sex – mortal or Immortal – but Serena seemed to have something of a resistance to him when it came to his attempts to charm her. He was going to have to try something else but it was going to be difficult as he couldn't give her what she claimed to want most; her freedom. He would have to try something more subtle until she stayed of her own choosing.

Unfortunately, subtle was not among his usual practices. If his pride and ego had allowed him, he would have asked Nephlite, his Beta most skilled in subtleties.

Then there was the amount of attention his mate was getting. Darien hadn't been exaggerating to Andrew earlier that morning; every day more and more of his kind arrived in his immediate territory. Not only rogues – those of this kind who chose to be alone instead of belonging to a pack and travelled the world with very few ties – but entire packs. On top of that, the unit of Anami Andrew had promised would be arriving just after sunset.

Darien would not have them near his wolfmate – only partly because they were not of his pack; Andrew would be sending his most trusted – but because it had mostly been Damned Anami that had attacked her. He didn't want to scare her, or freak her out as the mortals said, anymore than she already was.

Although, Serena was taking everything remarkably well for a mortal. The way she had fought with him just now, a man who could become a very large wolf who had killed in front of her innocent eyes, gave testament to either great bravery or one impressive temper that made her forget just what he really was.

On top of Serena and the seemingly never-ending string of problems that followed her, Darien still had his multimillion dollar companies in the mortal world to run, from which came the money that kept him and his pack in the finest of modern comforts. The companies were multi-million dollar corporations, so money wasn't the problem. He had hired mortals to handle the majority of the dealings of his various companies, but there were still some things the mysterious young handsome CEO had to take care of himself.

And to add even more to the list of things he was leaving unattended, remaining at the manor with his mate meant that he wasn't hunting the Damned, which no doubt would result in more innocent mortals dying.

When he returned to the manor Darien was going to have to organise teams of his pack and the willing visiting Lycaons to take on additional hunts.

Feeling more at ease with his priorities organized, Darien returned to his manor, just as the sunlight hit the grounds of his estate over the rise of trees and the tall surrounding wall. He had been gone a full two hours longer than necessary, but he had worked a lot out and he had never let the manor drift from his earshot. If his mate or his pack had needed him, he would've reached the manor in less than two minutes.

Darien glanced up at the balcony belonging to his own bedroom and a wolfish toothy grin spread across his muzzle.

Maybe he should see what his mate was doing when she thought he wasn't near.

* * *

Serena hadn't been able to get back to sleep after her dark captor – now confirmed to be known by the name Darien – had frustrated and pissed her off to no end. So she had showered, opened the door to request her breakfast be brought to her early – a routine she was unfortunately getting into – and had looked for something to do.

She had already destroyed, maimed or damaged most objects in the room, so she couldn't do that again, as sorely as she was tempted, even though Darien hadn't shown _any_ reaction at her turning the room upside down and inside out; the only room she had spared was the bathroom. It had been left alone because when she had turned her sights on it the day before her sense of self preservation had piped up and pointed out that she needed that bathroom in working order as she was currently trapped there.

A full two hours after she'd finished her breakfast, Serena had been surprised when the woman guard – who had medium brown hair and kind hazel eyes – had asked her to follow her into the next room so that the room could be _"cleaned"_.

Serena had complied but it had been with a self-satisfied grin on her face. She didn't feel the least bit guilty about the damage she'd caused because Darien had deserved it, and he obviously had more than enough money to pay for the damages.

And hadn't he just this morning – before dawn she might add – pledge that anything she wanted at all was hers? What was a little destruction of his bedroom when he had promised her anything she wanted –.

– except for what she actually did want of course. It seemed that his promise only applied to things that kept her there as his prisoner. It could be worse, Serena supposed. If she had to be in a cage, at least it was gilded and she was comfortable.

She had been lead through the door in the wall opposite the French doors – that had been locked – and into a library slash office that looked like a smaller version of the library in Disney's _Beauty and the Beast._ The walls were lined with shelf after shelf of old looking books but there wasn't a speck of dust to be found. There was a large dark vanished wooden desk just off the centre of the room, complete with computer and big overstuffed rotating computer chair on wheels, behind which was a large impressive smoky marble fireplace big enough to fit five grown men standing inside without touching each other.

There were no windows, but the entire ceiling was made of glass, lighting the room with plenty of natural light but with the way entire room was designed, no direct natural light would ever reach any of the shelved books.

Her two female guards who had allowed her awe at the sight of the room to pass before they'd politely asked if she wanted anything, to which Serena had declined as she'd known they'd meant anything _other_ than her freedom. If she was going to escape her captors then she was either going to have to convince Darien to let her go or she was going to have to get away herself.

But unlike before, the two guards had not left the room once she'd made it clear that she didn't want anything. Instead they'd taken their posts at the main double doors opposite the desk, _inside_ of the room.

That had made her smile impishly. It was as if they didn't trust her in the library alone for some reason. Gee, Serena wondered what the reason for their mistrust was.

He he. There was just something about this place – and its master – that was bringing out her inner devil that had kicked the usual residing little angel from the premises.

And so for the passed hour Serena had busied herself on the computer, researching vampires and werewolves on the internet. Most of it seemed like made-up paranoid crap and superstition, but she paid attention to the main reoccurring points. Daylight was bad for vampires who lived by drinking blood – it was easier to believe now that she had been attacked by vampires, one of whom had drunk her blood like it was a fine wine. Lycaons – an older term for Werewolves – turned into enormous wolves – Serena suspected that the little titbit about only being able to turn during a full moon was fictional as she had been attacked twice without sign of a full moon.

Serena had no idea how much of the rest was actually true, but the more she knew about Vampires and Lycaons the better.

She did, however, find herself very interested in the parts that outlined ways to kill vampires and werewolves. She wondered where she could get a gun with silver bullets. She would only need _one_ silver bullet.

After a solid hour of research, Serena grew tired of all the contradicting repetitive information and she settled for researching normal wolves as that information was fact not myth and made-up paranoid fiction that best suited a low budget horror movie.

One internet site seemed particularly helpful; it described the behaviour of an Alpha wolf and it was spot on with Darien's characteristics. Whoever had written it made it sound as if they were describing her own dark pain-in-the-ass arrogant jerk. Only they left out a few descriptive keywords, like 'asshole', 'conceited', 'spoiled', 'domineering' and 'raw sex on legs'.

Eventually Serena was so engrossed in what she was reading that she was reading it out loud, mumbling the words to herself, only partly aware that she was doing so. " '_. . . wolves have incredible and long-lasting stamina and . . .' _"

Serena scoffed, halting in mid sentence. "Stamina, huh?" Well, doesn't that just figure-."

"You have no idea how _long-lasting_ my stamina is."

Serena shrieked, startled out of her wits, and jumped straight up out of the chair like the chair had suddenly taken a chunk out of her behind. Then she scrambled back away from him where he stood behind the chair she'd just leaped out of.

The stupid ass had whispered right in her ear with that smooth-as-silk suggestive tone of his without even alerting her that he was in the damned room! Fortunately she was too startled, her heart racing too frantically in her chest, for the intended effect of his silken promise to have its true intended effect on her.

With her heart racing, Serena turned and glared daggers at him while he had a devil's grin on his face and heated lustful delight in his eyes – that were _twinkling again!_

"How did you get in here?!" Serena demanded, placing her hand over her heart in an effort to keep it from bursting through her ribcage.

The main door was right in front of her; his desk faced it and she hadn't noticed _any_ movement at all!

Wordlessly, Serena watched as Darien pointedly looked left at the wall and there, to the right of the desk, was the door she'd entered through that lead to his bedroom. His answer to her question was obvious.

He came in through the side door that connected with his bedroom.

Serena turned back to Darien and glared her mightiest at him. Needing to mask her embarrassment at being so easily taken by surprise while reading aloud the information she had, she glared accusingly at him. "Well, announce yourself or wear a bell around your neck or something! Jeez!"

This bloody mansion was full of people but she rarely heard _any_ of them! There were no footsteps in the corridor or the occasional cough or sneeze, not even the sound of something being dropped and it wasn't because of excellent soundproofing! It was because the inhabitants of the house just moved _that_ silently, and nothing was dropped, probably because of the superhuman reflexes she herself had witnessed.

The most common sound Serena had heard so far were hushed whispers outside her door; that was her only proof that the house was even inhabited. In fact she had even gotten into the habit of dropping things and walking loudly just for the sake of the noise!

He – Darien – was watching her still with amusement in his penetrating twinkling eyes and it was then that Serena realised that she wasn't afraid of him anymore. She was still terrified from her body's responses to him, but she wasn't afraid _of_ him. She knew he would never hurt her or he would have done so already. He had even said several times that he would do anything to keep her safe.

You didn't promise that to someone you intended to hurt.

He was an arrogant jerk, but he had never laid a hand on her other than to save her from harm, or the few gentle caresses that had always been along her cheek or her hair.

But Serena wasn't about to fall in love with him – the blazing and intense sexual tension between them aside. He was a dangerous man to love; a heartbreaker. Serena suspected that if she did allow herself to fall in love with him it would be completely and she knew very well how much a broken heart could destroy someone.

She had known enough pain from love lost to last a lifetime; she had loved her parents with all her heart and loosing them had destroyed a part of her. Forever.

Darien sensed his mate's abrupt mood shift, he could see her pain in her eyes and he quickly sought out a means to distract her from her current line of thought, whatever it was. With time they would come to know each other well enough that he would know what caused her such heartbreaking sorrow and know what to say to soothe her, but for now he was forced to distract rather than comfort.

His eyes fell on his computer and a small playful grin spread across his lips.

Serena noticed Darien quirk an eyebrow as he glanced at the computer.

"Nice to see you know how to use a computer as anything other than a projectile." He said with a deep chuckle in regards to what she had done to his bedroom.

Memories of her parents were immediately drowned out by her embarrassment and her anger that was aimed directly at him. Serena wanted to hurl the computer at him! He was making fun of her just because he wanted too!

The first thing Serena was going to do when she escaped from him was get a gun and find a silver bullet.

* * *

Sapphire had spent the entire night making sure everything was as it should be in the underground lair where the bulk of the Damned of the city dwelled during daylight hours. It was not the grand palaces they had once occupied in the times of old, but it was safe and hidden from those who hunted them and it offered complete shelter from the harsh sun for the Anami Damned.

They changed dwellings often to keep those who hunted them guessing. Currently their safe haven was within the three levelled basement of an abandoned industrial factory above that had been restored enough to suit them; mostly with the possessions they had stolen or taken from their kill. They were on the outskirts of the city. The always made certain that they remained on the opposite side of the city that bordered the Lycaon territory as the city belonged to the mortals – or so was believed by all but the Damned who did not care in whose territory they hunted.

It secretly gave Sapphire dark pleasure that even though the Lycaon prince had tried to find the lair of the Damned in the city for over a decade he had yet to even gain a clue. The Damned feared the warrior Lycaon Prince, but they feared their own Prince more. The Lycaon Prince would only kill them, whereas the Prince of the Damned had long ago made death a mercy.

The Prince of the Damned had been away from the City for over a year, leaving Sapphire in charge in his stead. The Prince hadn't even told him, his second in command, what his mission had been that had taken him from the city for so long, but whatever it was, the Prince was returning by Sapphire's own summons.

Sapphire had sent word to his Prince as soon as he had returned to the safety of the lair and it had been replied too almost immediately.

It had only read – written in mortal blood – _'Arriving two nights hence.'_

Of course, Sapphire had told his Prince everything and had known its importance would outweigh anything his master was doing.

It wasn't every day that their greatest enemy acquired a mate, let alone a mortal one.

Sapphire snapped to attention as the doors whooshed open with a loud piercing metallic bang and the Prince and Leader of the Damned – one of the most powerful and oldest surviving of their kind – stalked into the throne room like the dominant ruling power that he was.

Without greeting anyone, took his place on his black solid gold throne on the five stair high dais on the opposite side of the room from the door.

Sapphire was the second in command. While the rest in the room fell to their knees, he had earned his right to remain on his feet, expected only to bow his head.

"Sire." Sapphire greeted reverentially. He had two fresh terrified mortal females – always the most beautiful that could be found, even though mortals paled so in comparison to the flawless beauty of an Immortal female – ready for his master to feed upon, waiting at a moment's warning to be brought to him.

"Tell me of this mortal bitch the Lycaon whelp has found." Prince Diamond demanded in a low icy hiss.

"I have tasted her scent myself, my Prince." Sapphire answered quickly, he had earned his place as second in command of all Damned, but the Prince of the Damned would still kill him as surely as any other. "I witnessed with my own eyes that he regards her as his mate."

"This is what we've been waiting for." The Prince of the Damned sounded downright triumphant. "The demise of our enemies is now at hand."

"Excellent, my Lord." Sapphire bowed his head.

"But this mortal mated with a Lycaon requires further enquiry." Diamond told him, his tone one of calculation. "Either the Lycaon Prince has fallen into madness or there is something unique about her."

"Should I investigate for you, Sire?"

"No." The Prince of the Damned turned his attention to the dark figure who had escorted the Prince to the Lair of the Damned but had remained unnoticed in the doorway of the Throne room. "I have someone else in mind to investigate this. Someone who can get closer to her than any of us."

Beneath his low black hood that cast black shadows over his face, the figure grinned with evil delighted anticipation.

Yes. He could get closer to the Lycaon Prince and the Lycaon pack than any other Damned on Earth and they wouldn't even know he was there until it was too late.


	6. Chapter 4 Family

Hi Everyone!

I'm still writing but I'm still without an editor and it takes me FOREVER to edit my own work. On this note please excuse any spelling and grammar mistakes, if you find any that drive you completely nuts, feel free to let me know!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Family **

* * *

Before midmorning the next day, Serena had had enough! She was going stir crazy locked in the dreary gloomy bedroom. Yesterday, while she'd been in the library – under guard – the bedroom had been cleaned and everything she'd damaged had been replaced. The room looked almost exactly as it had before she'd trashed it.

It had been tempting, but she hadn't re-trashed it, even if it would be something to do. It was a nice room and a lot of the stuff in it was more than _nice_. God knows the total cost of it all had to be somewhere in the range of ludicrous.

It was going to be a bright and sunny day – not that she would really get to enjoy it, being locked inside this gloomy bedroom all day! – and Serena was enjoying her breakfast that had been brought to her. The day before yesterday she'd been asked by the nice young woman who delivered her meals to the room what it was that Serena liked to eat, and since then she'd mainly been served what she'd more-or-less asked for. This morning her breakfast included fresh fruit, vanilla and blueberry yoghurt and home-made strawberry pop-tarts with real strawberry filling, served with caramel flavoured hot chocolate and orange juice.

Whoever planned and prepared her meals really provided her with a variety as well as what she'd asked for while at the same time providing her with all the vitamins and nutrients her body needed.

However Serena suspected that it wasn't a coincidence that her breakfast was an equal balance between what she had asked for and what her body needed to stay healthy. It seemed that Darien was taking his promise to keep her safe and sound so serious that it even stretched to her diet.

It was irritating the hell out of her that she was finding it difficult to remain mad at someone who was taking such great an interest in her health and wellbeing. Oh well, she'd just have to try harder to stay mad at him; there was no doubt that Darien would do something soon enough to refresh her dislike towards him.

Serena was halfway through her breakfast when, without warning, it had finally hit her like a tonne of bricks; she'd been at the mansion for the better part of a week without contacting _anyone_. She had family and friends, not to mention her midterms that started in a few days!

Oh hell!

Serena put down her caramel hot chocolate she'd been serenely sipping and hurried to the doors. The doors weren't locked anymore, but her guards now – and at all times – included a woman who wouldn't hesitate to stop her from leaving, unlike the men who seemed unwilling to actually lay a hand on her, although Serena was beginning to suspect that it was more due to their orders than any chivalrous morals.

Her two guards weren't startled when Serena opened the door rather purposefully – they always seemed to know when she was near the door. It was as if they knew she was about to open the door, as if they could hear the smallest sound she made within, and since she wanted any little noise to break the bone-chilling silence of the mansion, she made no attempt to be quiet.

Her two guards, the woman who had escorted her back to her room when she had first tried to bolt and the man she'd ran passed the first morning she'd woken in the mansion, were already facing her, patiently waiting for her to speak, but at the same time they remained vigilant in case she tried to bolt again. They treated her like a delicate but mischievous child that did not know any better.

It was just one more item to add to the long list of things that were grinding down on her nerves – and she hadn't even had such a list a week ago. A week ago, everything had been simple and ordinary, and then she had fallen into a _Joss Weldon_ paranormal production.

Where was Buffy when you needed her?

"I need to see him." Serena addressed the both of her guards in a firm tone that left no room for argument or doubt that it was important.

They didn't need to be told who '_him' _was.

"Of course." The man with the short wavy blonde hair and blue eyes said with an elegant bow of his head as he indicated with his arm for her to follow the woman who was already leading the way down the corridor.

The woman remained a step in front of her while the blonde man followed a step behind, the end result being that she was encased in a circle of protection in the corridor. Her warden had trained her guards well; she was as effectively imprisoned as she was when she was locked in the bedroom.

And even though she was virtually surrounded by immortal shape-shifting super-strong werewolves, strangely Serena wasn't afraid at all. She was intimidated by them – what human wouldn't be? – but she didn't fear them. They protected her too carefully, too devotedly, as one would a precious breakable treasure; it made it easy for her to trust that they would never hurt her.

It was then that Serena realised that she'd never asked names. It was rude of her but under these circumstances she could forgive herself, and since it seemed that she was going to be there for a while, she might as well introduce herself to them and learn the names of the people whom she was continually coming into contact with.

"I'm Serena, by the way."

The woman in front of her looked at her over her shoulder with a surprised but friendly smile, as if she was pleased that Serena had spoken but hadn't been expecting her to do so.

Serena sensed her female guard was a nice caring person; when she overlooked the fact that this immortal woman was helping the big dominant jerk to hold her against her will.

"Believe me, we know." The woman said with amusement in her bronze coloured eyes, "I'm Summer, Calcite's mate."

Serena had no idea who Calcite was.

The man walking behind her spoke with a genuine smile in his surprisingly light easy-going tone. "I'm Zoicite, young miss, Darien's third Beta."

Serena looked over her shoulder and gave him a quizzical look, silently telling him that she had no idea what a Beta was. She let the '_young miss_' slide – this time – as her curiosity was greater than her irritation at the polite and out-dated term that made her feel as if he was addressing a small child.

Zoicite's smile widened; he really was instantly likeable – once Serena gave him the chance. "A Beta is the Alpha's second in command, so to speak. I am third Beta; I rank fourth in command of our pack."

Alpha. Well, no points for guessing who the Alpha was.

"Zoicite?" Serena repeated, his name was unusual – and sounded just a little bit girly. "Isn't that a kind of rock or something?"

Zoicite's smile broke into a beaming grin. "Yes, miss. Being named after elements of the earth is a tradition amongst the pack. The younger of our race isn't always so conventional, but most of the elder of us have names of the Earth. It was never a rule or anything like that, just a tradition that has never been obligatory."

"Drop the miss, it's Serena." Serena told him before turning her attention back to what lay ahead of her, considering that newly learned fact about the Lycaon race.

Behind her Zoicite chuckled softly, and replied with what could almost be fondness in his tone, "As you wish."

One minute and a staircase later, Zoicite knocked softly on the door and announced them all through the thick wood.

"Enter," Sounded back through the door and they entered in single file with Summer leading the way and Zoicite closing the door behind them.

Serena looked around the room, unable to help being impressed. The more she saw of the large mansion, the more she came to respect just how much money the inhabitants had; not that money was of any importance or concern to her, but wow, what could be done with a large quantity of it to a personal dwelling was impressive and eye-opening.

The room was an office pure and true, unlike the library office next door to the bedroom on the floor above. This room had no book cases or visible books of any kind; but the desk was an exact replica to the one in the library except twice the size. Open folders and files and sheets of crisp white paper lay scattered across the surface in front of Darien where he sat behind the desk, an expensive looking gold pen held in his right hand. Behind him were floor to ceiling windows that spanned the entire wall, giving view to the neat well kept grounds of the estate and the spanning wildness beyond the high white wall. And in the centre of the room, between the door and the desk, sat four two seater black leather couches surrounding a glass coffee table with a vanished black wooden frame.

This room was for business, official, no-nonsense serious-as-a-heart-attack business.

Darien looked up from his paperwork – that seemed never-ending, even to an Immortal such as himself – turning his full attention to Zoisite for an explanation as to why his mate had been brought to him instead of him being summoned to her, even though he had left no orders to the contrary. He had heard her from a floor above demand to be brought to him and had expected for Zoicite to instead ask Darien to come to her.

Whatever his mate wanted to say to him would this time have the audience that consisted of Summer and his three Betas, as Jadeite and Nephlite had been in his company before Serena and her escorts had entered. There was no doubt though that the four would keep out of his business with his mate, but whether they were in the room or not, their highly tuned curious ears would witness this conversation.

Zoicite lead the way across the room to his Alpha's desk, where he immediately bowed his head respectfully to his Alpha and stood tall beneath his steady authoritative gaze. "Your mate has requested an audience with you, my Lord."

Darien's eyes narrowed in on his third Beta at the "my lord". Normally, his Beta's didn't address him so formally outside of formal company. They left it for formal occasions, such as when in Anami company or Darien's royal parents visited.

Instead of questioning the formality, Darien turned his attention to his mate who seemed unafraid but impatient and stressed. Something was worrying her but she seemed to be relaxed in his presence.

This pleased him to no end; his mate was starting to become accustomed to them, although he had made it easy for her. He had strictly ordered that she was not to witness any of his pack in the wolf forms or see them do anything out of the ordinary for mortals. He had even acted to assure that she did not lay an eye upon the twelve Anami Andrew had sent to protect one who wasn't his own mate.

Not in the mood to show the same good manners that his own showed him, Serena walked straight up to his desk, laid her hands on the smooth almost icy surface and stared straight into his eyes, which was only possible because he was sitting. She wasn't going to submit to him, she still wanted to be let go and she would take any opportunity that presented itself to get away. She just didn't see the sense in provoking the wolf until then, especially now when she wanted something from him that she wasn't sure he would grant her.

"You have to let me go." Serena told him steadily, deciding to aim high so that she could turn her true goal into the "negotiated middle ground".

Darien slumped back against the cushioned high back of his black office chair and sighed heavily, like a loving father would when he was being endlessly pestered about something by his beloved child; and his tolerant indifference was pissing her off!

Serena bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming at him at his tolerating attitude; she wanted something from him. She would wait to hear his answer before she started screaming at him.

"We've been through this," Darien told her with calm tolerance. "Even _if_ I was willing to let you go, it isn't safe."

Serena simultaneously released the delicate flesh of her inner cheek from between her teeth and the delicate hold she had on her tempter, freely giving her temper free rein over her mouth. "I don't care what _you're_ willing to do! I have friends and family that are, without a doubt, worried sick about me! Not to mention my studies! I have midterms in two days!"

As Serena fumed at him – as adorable as a hissing kitten – Darien considered her point. He had been so preoccupied with her safety and everything else that he hadn't considered the other mortals in her life. By now, she would've been reported missing by her friends and the mortal police would be looking for her. They wouldn't find her here, Darien didn't worry about that, but the fact that her friends and family would be worried about her seemed to be distressing his mate and he could not let that continue.

Mortals were such delicate and emotional creatures; her distress could affect her health if it continued to mount. He would have to let her do something to ease her distress.

As the silence wore on, Serena continued to glower at him. He wasn't going to let her leave, that much was plainly written across his calculating face, but she had to do something to reassure her friends and her brother that she was safe; at least until she could get away from Darien and his pack.

Serena couldn't let her friends and her brother, all of whom she loved dearly, worry themselves sick over the horrible thought that something terrible had happened to her. She never should have left it this long! She should have done this the first morning! There was no excuse for forgetting about her friends, and by now her brother would know something was wrong.

Swamped by a tide wave of guilt, Serena's anger deflated. For those she loved, she was going to have to set her pride and tempter aside and give Darien whatever he wanted in order to get word to her loved ones.

"At least let me call Sammy, reassure him I'll alright." Serena beseeched him, reaching for below the middle ground even though her pride was offended that she was negotiating with him so quickly. Her tempter was well and truly deflated beneath the worry and anxiety her brother had to be going through. He'd already lost his parents – _their_ parents – losing her would destroy him.

Serena couldn't let that happen.

"_Sammy_?"

Serena was wrenched from her worried thoughts by the single hostile sound that was more of a snarl than a word. She snapped her gaze that had fallen to the desk while she'd been thinking back to him to see his eyes ablaze with jealous hostility.

Baffled and cautious, Serena watched as Darien slowly, menacingly, rose to his feet, his entire body tense as if he was barely restrained from doing something violent – not against her but against Sammy, of that she was certain.

Serena took a fearful step back, not taking her eyes from him. He was ready to do harm, maybe kill, and she knew very little of what he was capable of.

"JUST WHO THE GODDESS'S NAME IS _SAMMY_?!" Darien all but roared at her, his eyes blazing with obvious lethal jealousy that he made no attempt to disguise or control. His entire body was tense – battle-ready. His jaw was clenched, the muscles in his neck were visibly tense and corded in his enraged state and his hands were clenched tight into fists, but the most menacing thing about his was his dark eyes that would have looked black had they not been filled with the furious fires of hell.

Zoicite sensed Summer tense, readying for conflict, beside him at the same moment he did – the moment Serena had spoken the other male's name and of her need to contact him – both of them ready to leap into action – whatever that action might be. Any Lycaon male would naturally be enraged and jealous when his newly found mate – who was fighting him every step of the way – mentioned another man's name with such affection.

Zoicite knew Darien could, and would, never hurt his mate, but Lycaon kind were overprotective, possessive and highly competitive and as Alpha – _royal_ Alpha at that, which meant that he was stronger and had greater capabilities than the average male Lycaon – Darien was the most deadly of all Lycaon warriors. He was overprotective, obsessively possessive and dangerously jealous right now. If there was another male in Serena's life – who wasn't related to her – whom she cared for then right now that said male was in grave danger.

Unaware of anything other than the fuming immortal shape shifting man raging before her wide frightened eyes, Serena had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on! Darien had just exploded into a murderous rage at the mention of her brother's name.

Wait! Darien evidently didn't know that Sammy was her brother! He had obviously assumed that Sammy was her boyfriend or something, but even if Sammy had been the name of her boyfriend this reaction was way over the top! He was acting as if she'd just demanded to be released so she could go into the arms of the man he despised most!

Maybe she'd made a grave mistake in becoming too comfortable here, after all they weren't human. They were werewolves and they were a hundred times stronger and faster than she was and they were DANGEROUS!

Just look at how little it had taken to set Darien off! He had seemed so controlled and so much older – but she wouldn't go as far to call him wise, he was far too arrogant for that – beyond the limits of normal human, that she hadn't seen his out-of-control emotion driven behaviour coming.

Without any warning at all, Darien suddenly leapt up onto the top of his desk with the ease a normal person would use to climb a single stair, knocking the various things sitting on the polished surface flying in all directions.

Serena instinctively flinched, fearfully taking a step back as she warily watched as Darien crouched down onto his toes and finger tips, as steady and as weightlessly as if he were held upright by invisible wires, as he continued to glare frenziedly at her.

Serena took a second wary step back, keeping her eyes glued to him where he crouched on his desk in perfect balance as if ready to pounce. He was in his human form but right now he looked every bit the dangerous wild predator Serena knew he really was. His eyes were almost black with barely-contained fury and a low ominous growl escaped his parted lips as he bared his teeth.

"Brother." Serena squeaked fearfully. She wasn't sure if she was more fearful for herself or her brother; a part of her – deep within – had been certain that Darien would never hurt her but now even that part had doubts. "Sammy is my brother."

In the blink of an eye, Darien's demeanour changed, calmed. His rigid battle ready body visibly relaxed and he gracefully leaped backwards off the desk and returned to his chair, calm and composed, as if the past minute had never happened at all.

Wow. Talk about blowing hot and cold. Serena made a mental note to be far more wary and attentive of him in the future. Darien was calm and controlled and civilised – to a point – but the beast within was unpredictable, impulsive and dangerously explosive. It seemed that the wild creature within had far more control over Darien than she'd originally thought. It was entirely possible that in a fit of anger he might unintentionally hurt or attack her.

Serena realised then that she really didn't know anything about him; yes, he was a man who could shift into an impossibly large wolf and kill vampires, but about him and his Beast she knew so very little.

Maybe her trust in that he wouldn't hurt her had been premature and foolish.

Darien silently cursed himself and his rash behaviour in every language he knew – which was most. He had scared his mate and had made her feel threatened; fear was the last thing Darien wanted her to feel towards him. He needed her to trust him but she couldn't if she feared him and was constantly wary that he would explode at any moment.

To top it all off, Darien was disgusted with himself. He was the Alpha Prince, one of the most powerful and eldest surviving of his kind outside of the High Lycaon Royal Court, and he had lost control like an adolescent pup. He was better than this; he was a fierce and feared warrior with unmatched control and skill. He had to get a grip on himself around his mate before he ran the risk of causing his mate harm, physical or emotional.

After a long silent minute passed in which no one in the room dared to move, Darien looked up into his mate's fearful and wary eyes as she watched him like a defenceless baby rabbit caught in the hungry murderous gaze of the great timber wolf. She wasn't shaking in fear, instead she was completely still except for the subtle in and out motion of her chest, but it was obvious that she would bolt if he so much as twitched.

He had to repair the damage he'd just done.

Darien briefly took notice of Zoicite and Summer standing battle-ready and watchful at Serena's back, ready to act, he knew, to protect Serena from him.

Darien made a mental note to reward them later. It took great courage and dedication for those so loyal to their pack to be willing to stand against the man who was their prince and Alpha, for the good of the innocent. They would protect Serena from any threat, even from their own Alpha prince.

Moving with exaggerated slowness, Darien picked up the black landline phone from the floor at his feet and gently placed it on the far side of the desk from him, in front of his mate before he leaned back in his chair, intertwined his fingers in his lap and waited patiently, all the while displaying his calm state on his face and in his eyes.

At some point later, after Serena had overcome this little incident, Darien would have to explain to her the wild impulsive nature of the Beast his kind carried and he would apologise for his actions; he could be dismissive about his behaviour when acting in her best interest, but not when he was being irrational and jealous. The Lycaon kind were fiercely competitive, possessive, protective and easily overcome by stabbing jealously around one's own mate; to hear one's mate even say another male's name with such caring can trigger the possessive fury of the temperamental Beast within.

But still, there was no excuse for one as old and as practised in his control as he was and Darien intended to tell her so – just not now.

As fearful and wary as she now was of him, Serena was not going to let this chance to call her brother and friends to ease their worrying for her pass. Keeping her eyes fixed on him Serena picked up the phone and using her peripheral vision to keep a watchful eye on him, dialled her brother's cell phone number as automatically as she would her name into a computer keyboard.

It rang four times before Sammy picked it up, and greeted with a detached, "yeah?"

Serena drew a deep breath and forced calm casualness into her voice; the point of this phone call was to calm and reassure, not to make his worry worse by sounding freaked out and scared. "Sammy, it's Serena."

"Serena?!" Sammy all but yelled through the phone so loudly that Serena was forced to pull the receiver away from her ear for a brief moment for the wellbeing of her eardrum. "Where the in hell have you been?! Where are you now?! Do you have _any_ idea how freaked me and the girls have been about you?!"

It pained Serena's heart that they loved her so much and she'd caused them to become so worried about her; she really should've demanded to make this call days ago.

"I know. I'm so sorry, Sammy." Serena soothed him the best she could when she didn't feel calm at all herself. "I haven't been able to call before now." She glared darkly at Darien because he was the reason she had disappeared without a word in the first place.

Serena knew Darien was listening to every word said but there wasn't anything she could do about that; she was just thankful that Darien was allowing her to contact her loved ones.

"Why?" Sammy asked with concerned suspicion.

Serena looked to Darien for an answer. She couldn't very well tell him the truth now, could she? For one, Sammy would think she was crazy and for two Darien would most likely end the call prematurely and permanently.

A stern expression appeared on Darien's face and he shook his head no twice, wordlessly telling her not to answer. So much for _probably_.

But no matter what, Serena _was not_ about to lie to her brother or her friends, especially not after everything she had put them through since she had disappeared.

Serena turned her attention back to her conversation with Sammy. "I can't tell you, Sammy. I'm sorry, I just can't."

There was heavy silence on the line for a long moment before Sammy asked in a hard serious tone, "Serena, are you in trouble?"

Serena closed her eyes and placed her hand over her face to hide her expression from Darien, not wanting him to read her emotional anguish on her face. She couldn't lie to Sammy but she couldn't tell him the truth either.

Serena could feel tears filling her closed eyes; it was so hard talking to Sammy, trying to reassure him that everything was okay when there was the possibility that this might be the last time she got to speak to her brother.

Serena swallowed thickly and spoke, her voice trembling with emotion, but comprehensible. "Sammy, I want you to listen to me. I'm safe, I'm okay, but I'm in the middle of something that I need to handle on my own. I need to be by myself for a while. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you or anyone else, but believe me when I say that I had too." Serena drew in a deep shaky breath and forced herself to go on before she lost her nerve. "But I love you, Sammy. You know that, don't you? You've always been the best little brother any girl has ever had. You're going to be okay, Sammy. You're strong and stubborn, just like dad was."

There was a long pause before Sammy spoke again. "Serena, this sounds like goodbye." Sammy was really worried now, his voice was thick with fearful emotion.

"Not goodbye, Sammy." Serena promised him, even knowing that at any moment so many things could make a liar out of her. "One way or another, I'll always be with you, Sammy. Always, just as mum and dad are with us."

"Serena-."

"Please Sammy." Serena begged him as tears continued to flood her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "Don't worry about me, you know me. You know that I'd never do anything reckless. I promise you that everything will be okay. I just can't explain anything right now."

"Promise me I'll see you again."

Serena's grip tightened on the receiver as she lowered her hand from her face and opened her eyes to look into Darien's dark penetrating eyes. He was staring at her with sympathy in his dark blue eyes.

Serena had never felt so conflicted in her life. She wanted to hate Darien for putting her through this, for forcing her to inflict this pain on her brother, but if it hadn't been for him then her body would've been found cold and lifeless in the park over a week ago. If it hadn't been for Darien, then her brother really would have lost her forever. As much as Serena wanted to hate him, it wasn't until now she realised that she owed Darien more than her own life.

Serena owed him her brother's. At least this way Sammy knew she was alive and safe, wherever she was and he would continue on with his life as he had before instead of taking a turn for the worst that inevitably would have lead to a premature lonely death. Serena knew her brother well, she had raised him and taken care of him since their parents had died; her death would be something he would never recover from.

"I promise you'll see me again, Sammy." Serena told her brother with complete sincerity, her piercing tear-filled gaze telling Darien that he would not make a liar out of her, that she _would_ see her brother again no matter what. "One way or another, we'll see each other again."

At the sight of her miserable tear-filled eyes, Darien wanted to take her into his arms and promise her that everything was going to be alright, that he would make certain she kept her promise to her brother, but he forced himself to remain silent and still where he sat. He had just scared greatly; he knew she wouldn't appreciate him near her right now. He knew she blamed him for this, for keeping her away from her brother, but it was for the best. Not only would going to her brother endanger her, it would undoubtedly endanger her brother as well.

Once the Damned found out about Serena – if they hadn't already – they would want her and they wouldn't stop until they had her, they would do everything and anything to get their hands on her.

Darien listened, his heart tight at the sight his mate made as she told her brother that she had to go and that she loved him. She didn't say goodbye before she hung up, but she did tell her brother that she would keep her promise, hell or high water she would see him again.

Serena was the one to end the call by using her finger to press the little black button in the receiver's cradle, but she didn't replace the receiver.

"I'm sorry."

Serena didn't know what Darien was sorry for and right now she didn't care. Instead of making things better by getting in touch with her brother, she'd just made things ten times worse – for herself and her brother. She should've lied to him, told him that everything was fine, that she'd just taken off for a brief break from the stress of everything.

Or something! Anything would have been better than the half truths she'd just told him! Now he was more worried about her than ever!

The only consolation was that if something did happen to her and she couldn't keep her promise to her brother, at the very least she'd had the chance to tell him how much she she loved him and to say goodbye.

If this was her last chance to say goodbye, then Serena wasn't going to miss the chance to call the other people in her life she loved.

Before Darien could utter an objecting word, Serena was dialling Mina's cell phone number, again straight from memory.

This time the phone on the other end only rang twice before it was picked up with a frantic and timidly hopeful, "Serena?"

Serena blinked, startled and baffled as to how Mina knew it was her; she was calling from Darien's landline, there was no way that the display screen had come up with her name.

Serena closed her eyes against the logical truth; Mina hadn't known it was her, no doubt Mina answered every call that way in the hope that it would be her."

It's me, Mina."

"SERENA?! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Serena winced and quickly pulled the receiver away from her ear as Mina's high pitched screech exploded though it.

It appeared that Mina had been worried out of her mind about her.

"No, screw that," Serena could hear Mina say, a moment before it was followed by, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! DO YOU HAVE _ANY_ IDEA WHAT YOU'VE PUT US ALL THROUGH DISAPPEARING LIKE THAT WITHOUT A WORD NEARLY A WEEK AGO?! WHEN YOU GET HOME I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Serena hastily looked up at Darien for his reaction to Mina's threat, but he was calm and just slightly more than a little amused. It seemed that fortunately the Lycaon Alpha knew that Mina was kidding about the killing part.

At least Serena hoped so, she would hate to see what would happen if Mina actually tried to ring her neck with Darien in the vicinity.

Her money would be on Mina. Mina wasn't immortal with superhuman strength or speed or anything, but when it came to those she loved, she was downright terrifying in her cunning and determined Defend-a-Friend mode.

"-AND THEN I'M GOING TO CLONE YOU AND KILL ALL YOUR CLONES!" Mina continued to rant as loudly as she was physically able.

"Listen, Mina. I don't have a lot of time." Serena said quickly, but calmly before Mina could say another word, and maybe just send her completely and permanently deaf.

"Serena, what is it?" Mina's terrifying fury was gone, completely replaced by worry and concern for her best friend. "Girl, are you in trouble?"

"Mina, I'm okay. I promise." Serena quickly reassured her. She wasn't going to repeat her mistake with Sammy by revealing too much. In this case it seemed that less would be better. "I can't tell you anything right now, but I want you to know that I'm safe and I'm alright. I just can't tell you anything specific right now. I had to go away suddenly and I didn't have time to tell you. I'm sorry I've had you worrying for so long, but please believe me when I tell you that it couldn't be helped. Just know that you don't have to worry about me."

"Serena," Mina really sounded concerned and distraught now. "You're scaring me. What have you gotten yourself into? Whatever it is, we can help."

Like the opening of a flood gate, Serena's tears ran free of her eyes and travelled in parallel paths down her face at the love and devotion Mina demonstrated with so few words. "You can't help Mina, please just tell Lita and Amy that I'm alright. Stop looking for me. I'll come back, when I can."

On the other end of the phone line, in her dorm room on the University Campus, Mina heard the tears in Serena's shaking voice, and fear wrapped its icy squeezing grip around her heart. "Serena-."

"Bye, Mina."

"Serena!"

But the only response Mina got was the beeping engaged tone. Serena was alive, but Mina was certain that in no way was Serena alright.

* * *

Darien couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand watching his mate cry so wretchedly that her violent sobs shook her entire tiny form as she fought to breathe through them. He sat uselessly frozen in his seat, unsure as to whether or not he should go to her, to offer her comfort.

What if by going to his mate he only made the situation worse by scaring her even more than she already was?

There was only one thing he could do under these circumstances, a strategy that had proven effective before in the short time they'd known each other.

"Now that you have your calls done with, I'll make mine." Darien told her with a steady but telling voice as he reached over the desk and picked up the receiver. His fingers swept over the keypad fast and efficiently and when the computerised voice on the other end of the telephone line asked what number he wished.

Darien looked straight into Serena's teary eyes and told the Information line he wanted the number for the university, and then he purposefully rotated the computer chair until his back was mostly to Serena and he requested that he be connected to that number. Out of the corner of his eye, Darien saw that he had succeeded in catching her attention.

"What are you doing?" Serena asked thickly through her sobs.

When Darien gave her an innocent quirk of his eye brow with a soft "Hhmmm?", Serena knew he was up to no good.

"What are you doing?" Serena repeated, her teary red eyes zeroing in on the receiver he held to his ear.

Darien opened his mouth to reply, but when the phone was picked up on the other side of the line, he instead raised his finger at her in a "wait one moment" gesture, leaving Serena glaring at him and listening intently.

Unlike him, Serena couldn't hear what the person on the other side of the line was saying, but she knew that it was someone at the University; even through her sobs she'd been able to hear the loud-mouthed jerk request the number from Information.

Serena's instincts told her that Darien was up to something, and as much as she wanted and needed to cry right now, she knew that she'd better be alert because he was up to something.

That damned failing-to-appear-innocent jerk quirked an eyebrow that just screamed he was up to something; he might as well have the proverbial devil dancing on his shoulder whispering naughty suggestions in his ear.

"Yes, hello. I would like to speak to someone about a certain student who unfortunately has suffered a family emergency and can't participate in her exams. I would like to excuse her from the rest of the semester on her behalf."

Serena's jaw dropped opened speechlessly. Serena knew she looked like a gapping fish out of water but she just couldn't believe what the arrogant, self-centred, high and mighty jerk was doing! Was he seriously trying to sever all her ties with anything that resided outside of his walls?!

Just how long was he planning to keep her there?!

With her tears and her heartache momentarily forgotten, Serena slammed both of her hands down on the desk in front of him. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Darien was being transferred to the member of staff who could help him and the phone was ringing, so he ignored his glowering mate in favour of getting this done as fast as he could – before she came to her senses and tried to stop him.

"Yes, hello." Darien greeted when the phone on the other end was picked up and he re-explained himself – omitting most of the details.

"I'm sorry," the official middle aged sounding woman told him from the other end in an official tone, "such requests can only be submitted by the student themselves. Not to mention it would be extremely difficult with how late in the semester it is. If she can't attend her exams then I'm afraid there will be little choice but for her to be marked down as a non-compliance in her studies and she will fail. However, she may repeat the semester, if that is her choice. If not, then she should think seriously if this is where she wants to be."

In another life, Darien would have been furious at the woman's unwillingness to help him, but he had been raised a prince who would one day be king. In the Immortal world, as crown prince he mostly got his way, but in the mortal world he _always_ got his way. One way or another.

"Under normal circumstances," Darien started smoothly, adding just a half measure of charm to his tone. "I would completely agree with you, however Miss Steven's absence can in no way be helped and I would understand that this would be a great inconvenience to several. I am asking leniency in this case. Leniency I would gladly compensate for. Say for example, in exchange for Miss Stevens to pick up where she left off in the next year, I would be willing to make a substantial donation as compensation for any and all inconvenience this will cause."

After a long pause, an icy voice sharply asked, "Are you trying to bribe me, sir?"

"Not at all," Darien lied smoothly; bribing her was exactly what he was doing, but he would not allowed the University to labelled it as bribery; he wouldn't let anything tarnish Serena's name. "I'm willing to show my gratitude for leniency shown to a student who has suffered a rather unfortunate and tragic event in her life."

"Look, sir, I'm sorry, but I cannot-."

"Would five million dollars suffice?" Darien asked, remorselessly cutting her off in mid-sentence.

Serena was dreaming. She had to be. Things like this happened in real life! Here was Darien, as calm and as naturally as breathing, offering millions of dollars just so she could take a year off university so she could-.

Hang on. A year. A whole year before she picked up where she left off?

Rather than continue to glare or scream at him again, Serena instead chose to lunge for the phone receiver. She lunched herself straight across his desk, arm reaching for the phone but at the last moment her hand only grasped air.

Blinking in battled confusion, Serena found herself looking into the black leather of the _empty_ office computer chair.

"Excellent," Said the familiar pleased voice from her right.

Serena turned and saw Darien leaning up against the wall to her right with the phone in his hand, leaning up against the wall as if he had been there the entire time. He looked calm, relaxed and very smug as he stared into her eyes standing there against the wall like he was at a casual family barbecue.

"I will send someone to pack and collect her belongings, please notify the relevant staff. Thankyou."

Darien hung up the phone making a mental note to call his mortal secretary and send her to have Serena's things packed and sent to the manor.

Serena had been gob-smacked before, not often, but she did know the feeling, but _this_ was something else entirely.

This . . . this . . . _jerk_ had just paid _FIVE MILLION DOLLARS_ to her university so she could be excused from her exams and defer for a year. She just couldn't believe it, just how arrogant could one man be?!

And how rich was he that FIVE MILLION DOLLARS was nothing to him? He'd shown as much indifference to that large sum of money as most people did to the loose quarters buried in their couch!

If he could spend that much money on something so superfluous then this extensive extravagant mansion was well and truly _below_ his means. This was a man who had cash – and a lot of it – to burn, but the money obviously meant so little to him that he hadn't even battered an eyelid in _donating_ millions to her university.

What kind of man had that much money but didn't care about money?

One who planned to keep her prisoner in his posh mansion indefinitely, a little voice promptly reminded her.

Serena closed her mouth, endeavouring to forget about the money he'd just used to bribe her university, and returned to glaring at him. She couldn't undo what he'd just done – for that amount of money the University wouldn't let her if she tried – but what she could do was take her sense of powerlessness and her frustration out on him.

God knew he more than deserved it. Just how long was he planning to keep her there? He'd pulled her out of school for a _year_! Her brother and her friends were already out of their minds with worry, what would that become if she was gone for a full year?!

Serena couldn't image not seeing her brother or her friends – whom she loved and thought of as her sisters – for that long. She needed them in her life, she needed those she loved and she needed to know that they were alright, not worrying themselves sick over her. It didn't help either that she felt so guilty at not contacting them sooner. They'd been worrying themselves sick over her for days, until now when she'd finally thought to contact them.

When she got away from the jerk and out of this mess, Serena was going to have to make it up to them – maybe give each of them one of her organs, or something just as meaningful.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Serena demanded, feeling heat rise in her face and neck as she became red from the heat of her blazing fury. "_Bribing_ the university to deter me for a _year_?! Just how long do you think you're going to be able to keep me here?"

Darien leaned back in his chair, considering her through his amusement-filled deep dark blue eyes – damn! Serena was as furious as hell with him but she just couldn't seem to stop noticing how drop dead gorgeous he was! The man had sex appeal oozing out of his pores!

"I don't _think_ anything." Darien told her self-assuredly. "I _know_ that I'm going to keep you here for as long as I must to keep you safe."

It took all of Serena's self control to keep from screeching loud enough to stir the dead in sheer frustration. The jerk's arrogance knew no bounds.

It would've given her nothing but the greatest pleasure to tell him just where he could stick his arrogant oversized ego, but Serena could see it in his eyes that her fury was only succeeding in amusing him and she refused to keep giving him the pleasure.

Serena narrowed her eyes on him, glaring at him wishing more than anything that looks could kill. "That's what you think."

And Serena spun on her heel and stalked across the room with all the dignity and grace of a reigning Queen.

* * *

The thunderous boom of the door slamming echoed through the office as its occupants continued to stare after her, even after the door had been slammed closed behind her.

After a brief moment of silence, a loud enraged feminine screech from down the hall had them all turning their incredulous gazes back to the Lycaon Alpha prince, who still sat behind his large desk.

Darien had the inkling that if Serena had been able too, she would've at least attempted to inflict some form of harm upon him. If she _had_ been able, then Darien had no doubt that he would've been left licking his wounds for days.

There was a strength, a will, in his newly discovered mortal mate – so alike that which Rei possessed – that made every male in the vicinity – mortal or no – wary of her. As he had just witnessed, even frustrated and captive in his house, Serena had still stalked out of the room with the poised air of an infuriated Queen.

No doubt about it, Serena was a woman who more often than not would get her way in life, and in the manor; it was only Darien's fear for her safety that prevented her way in some things.

Darien, ignoring the accusing eyes on him, turned his thoughts back to more serious concerns. There was much to do and he had to get it done as soon as possible.

Looking up, Darien turned his attention to Summer, who was the only female in the room and the only one bluntly glaring irately at him.

It appeared that his mate had a knack for quickly gaining the affections of the members of his pack.

"Summer, I need you to assist Rei in gathering everything my mate needs," Darien instructed her, waving his hand dismissively in her direction. "Clothing and personal items. Anything and everything she may need."

Without saying a word, Summer bowed her head stiffly to him, and turned on her heel to leave the office, no doubt she wouldn't fail to fill Rei in on recent events. As with the mortal race, the Lycaon women tended to stick together when the men of the pack acted "inappropriately" – or at least that was the correct term. The actual term that was mainly used by said women was one he would not repeat.

The battle of the sexes did not just rage in the mortal world. In the pack, when a man enraged a female bad enough, he more often than not had to go to proverbial war with every female in the pack.

"Don't go too far overboard," Darien added as a disclaimer to Summer. "When Serena settles I'm sure she'll go shopping herself."

Money was of no importance to him – he and his entire family secretly owned and ran several multi-national, multi-million dollar companies – but if he had to move Serena he didn't want more than a few suitcases. The less she had right now – personal possessions wise – the better.

Summer closed the door behind her with much more force than was necessary.

Darien turned his attention to his Betas, who were still and practically standing at attention. They were friends and brothers but even when they were without formal company, there were times they had to remember that there was a hierarchy in the pack.

"Tonight I want the three of you to take two units comprised of our best and find Sapphire." Darien's tone was hard with authority and icy with deadly implication. "He saw Serena; no doubt he already knows that she is of some importance, to me at least."

"And when we find him?" Jadeite asked without emotion.

Darien knew that Jadeite was asking for a direction order; he already knew what Darien wanted him to do. They had been together too long, fought in too many battles, not to know each other well enough that for most things words were not needed.

"He is a danger to my mate."

Jadeite bowed his head in acknowledgement of the order, and the three Betas turned and left him alone.

Darien leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh. There was so much he had to do or see done, and the feeling that time was running out was growing stronger around him, ever since the night Sapphire had escaped him with knowledge of Serena.

If Sapphire learned of just who and what Serena was – correction, _when_ he learned – Darien had no doubt that Serena would become the most targeted woman on earth, mortal or Immortal. Other than his sister, the princess of the Lycaon race, who had always been kept safe at all costs Darien had never had a known weakness before, especially one so venerable.

It would only be a matter of time before the worst of the Damned, who Darien had been hunting for over eight hundred years, learned of Serena and would come for him, either to take what was his or to kill him.

Probably both.

Darien couldn't let either of the events occur. No matter what happened, he couldn't let Serena fall into Diamond's hands, especially not if Serena was what Darien secretly hoped she was. As for his own death, Darien had stopped fearing death by the end of his second century of life. He had a reason to live now, one unlike any he had ever known before, but his life was inconsequential to him against that of his mate and his pack.

If his death was coming, then no matter what Serena would be protected for the rest of her natural days.

Half-heartedly, Darien picked up the receiver of the sleek black landline telephone on his desk and pressed the first speed dial. He had been dreading this call, but it had to be made. No doubt word had already reached their ears, even though they were on the other side of the world.

Goddess bless the communications age. Technology was one of the very few things that the mortals bettered immortals at; their limited time at life gave them unlimited potential and imagination.

The phone only rang twice before it was picked up.

"Darling, you finally called your mother."

Darien softened at the sound of his mother's loving melodious voice. He did miss her, but even after nine centuries he was still just a pup to her.

"Hello, mother." Darien breathed gently, as he turned his office chair to look out the window at the manor's grounds and his thickly wooded territory that stretched beyond. "I only called you not two weeks ago."

For the past fifteen hundred years the power of the Lycaon race had resided in England, but before then it had resided in what was now known as Ancient Persia."

Two weeks is a long time to some," His mother told him wisely. The Queen of the Lycaon race had only recently celebrated her two thousandth birthday; the Lycaon King had done so two centuries before his Queen.

His mother had no idea how right her piece of wisdom was. Look at all that had happened in his life in the last week.

"I have news." Darien wasn't fooled for one moment by his mother's impeccable restraint at waiting for him to approach the subject.

As far away from his parents as he was, the Lycaon King and Queen still knew most of what happened to and around their only two children who had moved to the new world long ago, and they knew it well before Darien or their young daughter reported it to them. Unlike royalty in the mortal world, the royalty of the immortal world had absolute power over their kingdom and their people. When it was said that the power of the Lycaon race resided in England, it was nothing but pure truth.

"Hold on one moment, my darling." The Lycaon Queen purred before Darien could say another word. "Your father is here, I will put you on speaker phone."

Not even a moment passed before Darien heard the telling click that his mother had indeed put him on speaker phone.

Darien resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His parents were over two thousand years old, the oldest of the surviving Lycaon kind, but they had never lost touch with the latest technology and inventions of both the Immortal and mortal worlds.

"Darien, boy," His father's voice all but boomed through the phone receiver. "I expected your call two days ago."

In other words, his parent's had learned of Serena three days ago but had been waiting for his call, no doubt to demonstrate to him that they had accepted that their only son was his own man now, one who stood on his own two feet.

There was no point in beating about the bush. His parents loved him and so often they checked in on him, even though he was half a world away. Of course they knew he knew that they did but they all continued to pretend that Darien was ignorant of their watchful eye.

But maybe their eyes would not remain so watchful over him now that he had finally found his wolfmate.

"I've found my mate in a mortal woman named Serena." Darien told them in one breath.

"How wonderful darling!" His mother chimed joyously at the exact right moment, but Darien heard the worrisome edge to her tone as clearly as he could picture it on her beautiful flawless face – as old as the King and Queen were, neither looked to be over the age of thirty.

Darien didn't doubt that they were relieved that he had found his mate at last and in doing so had found peace, but they were worried. Within minutes of hearing the news, they would have already considered the implications of their son's mortal mate.

"Your mate has long since been owed to you by the Goddess." The King of all Lycaon kind proclaimed proudly to him. "I'm proud of you, my son, for holding on for as long as you did."

"We're coming to the New World to see you both!" The Queen of the Lycaon kind was excited. She hadn't visited the US – which they both still referred to in the old manner as the "New World" – in decades.

But now was not the time for them to come. Things needed to settle down before his parents come to see her. Things are complicated and dangerous enough without having his royal parents there as well – along with no doubt, the entire Lycaon Royal Court.

"I would be overjoyed to have you and father in my house," Darien said truthfully, "But not yet. The Immortal world worldwide has been stirred, especially here in the States. I need to focus on protecting Serena now and-."

"Our presence will only stir it up all the more." His mother finished for him, she sounded disappointed but understanding.

"What of the Damned?" His father asked, his tone all hard serious business.

"I have reason to believe that Diamond will be returning to the region again soon." Now that Darien voiced his suspicions, it seemed all the more likely. "No doubt news of my mortal mate will reach his ears shortly, if not so already. He will come, for one reason or the other. He will come for her."

"What can we do for you, my darling?" His mother asked, concerned for her children.

Darien had known even before placing the call what he needed to ask of his parents. "I need numbers to protect my territory. As long as the borders of my territory hold, the Damned will never get near my mate."

"Then numbers you shall have," His father promised sternly, his word would be so as the King of the Lycaon kind considered his word bound by his honour. "I shall send my Beta with two units of my best. They are yours to command, with more if you wish."

"Two units is all I hope I will need," Darien would have taken every man his father could offer, but he would not risk the safety of the Royal Lycaon Court. It wasn't a complete impossibility that with all the strength of the Royal Lycaon Family in the States that Diamond would take advantage of the Court's fewer numbers and attack them instead.

Diamond was just cunning and devious enough to do it.

"What of Rei?" His mother asked him inquisitively, her voice lace with the worry of a loving mother. "Will you be sending her to us?"

"Not at this time, mother." Darien had already considered his sister and what was safest for her. It was true that the Lycaon Princess would be safer under the protection of the Lycaon Royal Court, but with all the Damned activity, the danger she would be in on the commute outweighed the risk than if she remained.

For the time being, Rei was safer inside his walls.

"Rei is safe enough here." Darien assured them. "I will not risk her safety as long as my territory remains un-breached."

"If that is what you think is best." His mother said with a heavy sigh that spoke of her disappointment at being denied the chance of a visit from her daughter, but still she respected and trusted her son.

It was known by all that the Lycaon Prince guarded well that which was in his domain.

After drawn-out goodbyes between the three of them Darien hung up the phone feeling as he always did after talking or visiting his parents, exhausted and grateful. His parents, even with the conversation as serious as it had been, always made him feel proud to be who he was. His parents loved him; in all his years, not once had he felt unworthy of being their son. He was just as proud to be their son as they were to have him as a son. But on the other side of the same coin Darien always found himself feeling mentally drained after long periods of time in his parent's company.

It had been so since he'd reached his first century; it was part of being a Lycaon, especially Lycaon royalty. Darien had been born to be an Alpha, to be a leader, and the blood of kings flowed thickly through his vines and living under the rule of the supreme alpha that his father was stirred his Beast's natural instinct to challenge in battle for the right of leadership.

In a Lycaon pack there could only be one alpha. It had only been his human half's iron will that had held his Beast so tightly that had prevented him from spontaneously attacking his father for the right of leadership.

Darien was buried deep in his thoughts and memories of his childhood when the shrill tone of his desk phone pierced though him and snapped him abruptly back to the present.

For a moment Darien considered not answering the call, but the responsibilities and duties that rested on his shoulders as Prince and Alpha weighed too heavily to let a call go unanswered without a justifiable reason.

Drawing in a deep breath, Darien picked up the receiver and put it to his ear, "Shields."

Listening silently for a moment, Darien had to fight to resist the compulsion to bang his head repeatedly on his desk, feeling the weight of his responsibilities grow that much more crushing upon his broad shoulders.

By the Great Moon Goddess, this was the last thing he needed right now.

* * *

Jadeite had a good hour before he needed to leave to embark on the hunt for the Damned Anami named Sapphire and everything was all organised; the two warrior units had reported for duty as ordered by their Alpha, their mission directive had been made clear and their weapons had been cleaned and inspected.

While Jadeite had been handling everything in preparation for their hunt tonight, Zoisite and Summer had returned to their posts outside of their Alpha's bedroom in which the mortal woman had remained for the remainder of the day.

No doubt Summer and Rei had already organised everything Serena would need and what needed to be delivered to the manor was on it's way.

It didn't take Rei – or Summer – long to organise and obtain.

With a quick peek into his mate's mind, which forever dwelled alongside his own consciousness when their link was not in active use, Jadeite saw that he had been right; Rei had just gotten off the phone with her mortal personal assistant in the city and what she had ordered would be there before eight o'clock tonight.

The few women of the pack were nothing if not efficient in ways that only women could be.

Satisfied that everything was as it should be – his Alpha's orders being followed and Rei, his wolfmate, safe and content – Jadeite turned his mind to other matters just as he reached his destination.

Jadeite did not know what had brought him to his Alpha's door; he had moments before believed that he'd been mindlessly walking the manor's long dim halls, but he found himself looking at the large double doors as if at will he might see through them.

Beyond the thick heavy wood, Jadeite could hear the young mortal woman's healthy beating heart, her soft breathing, and her rhythmic footsteps; she was pacing back and forth and she was in no way happy. In fact if Jadeite had to put a descriptive phrase to her current demeanour, he would say that she was royally pissed off.

Mates always tended to bring out strong emotional reactions in each other, ranging from fury to passion, from joy to frustration. Normally in time, both man and woman of a mated couple learned to control and manage their strong emotional reactions to each other, but newly coupled mates, no matter their age, were at constant emotional heights when they interacted with each other.

The young mortal woman needed guidance and Jadeite found himself willing to be the one who offered such to her as one mated being to another. The young moral knew nothing of their world and even less of what it was to be a mate, to be so blessed by the goddess as to be given such love, happiness and inner peace.

Jadeite indicated his head towards the doors which Zoisite promptly opened without so much as a raised eyebrow, and the three of them stepped inside – Summer for many reasons, but mainly because no male would dare to be unchaperoned while in the presence of another's mate, no matter how trusted.

And Zoisite had most likely entered because he was curious and unwilling to be the only one to wait outside.

At their entry into the room, Serena turned and after a moment of silence in which she considered them, her eyes narrowed until she was glaring wrathfully at the three of them.

"Don't tell me," Serena snapped venomously in their direction. "You're here to stick up for _him_."

Jadeite held back an inappropriate chuckle that he deemed would only enrage her further. He liked this young mortal woman; she was spirited and even though she had a tempter that was as wilful and unpredictable as that of Mother Nature, she was extremely likable and amusingly zealous, even while she believed herself to be a prisoner here in the mansion.

"Not quite," Jadeite replied, his amusement not completely masked in his tone.

Serena narrowed her eyes on the one named Jadeite. She didn't believe him for a moment. Everyone in the mansion seemed to think that Darien was some kind of messiah or something.

While Serena only allowed herself to think of Darien as an arrogant controlling jerk who refused to take no for answer – on anything!

"Then why are you here?" Serena felt a little bad that she was being rude to the people who continued to be the nicest to her, but they were still helping that jerk hold her prisoner, damn it! If that didn't give her the right to be at least a little rude, then what did?

"To offer company you aren't livid towards," Jadeite answered his tone good-humoured as he gave a small smile at his own half-joke. Half because even though he meant the quip in jest, his words still held truth.

Serena couldn't help it; most of the people in the mansion she'd met so far – all except for the alpha domineering jerk – she helplessly found herself liking.

Serena gave him a small smile which she didn't have to force. "You assume a lot."

"One of his many flaws." Zoicite quipped with a huge grin, his deep green eyes twinkling with innocent laughter.

"Like you're one to talk." Summer teased Zoicite with a teasing roll of her eyes.

Jadeite was delighted to see Serena's smile reach her eyes. She really was a beauty to behold, especially when her eyes glittered with mirth and joy, something Darien himself had yet to witness firsthand. His Alpha seemed to have a talent for antagonising his mate which was a real shame because to those she favoured she was a beaming jewel. It was a delightful experience to be around her when she was in a good mood; she as delightfully charismatic.

Serena couldn't remain angry and frustrated at Darien – at least while he wasn't even there – when she was surrounded by such likable – and funny – personalities. It was a con that they were friends with the arrogant jerk but it was a plus that they could make her laugh so effortlessly.

But at the same time, Serena knew that they were there for a reason. No one here had come near her without a purpose. If they were here to plead their Alpha's case, then they would be wasting their breath, but if they had come to cheer her up, then she was grateful for the _pleasant_ company.

"Why are you here, Jadeite?" Serena asked evenly. In a matter of a few minutes, thanks to the three of them – her _guards_ – she'd gone from feeling frustrated and angry to feeling at ease and relaxed. She hoped that the answer to her question wouldn't spoil her newly acquired good mood.

"Not to plead Darien's case," Jadeite assured her. He could sense her suspicion and had confidently assumed the reason for her suspicion; anyone who spent any amount of time amongst the pack could see the loyalty and respect the pack had for their Alpha.

But as much as Jadeite wanted to defend his Alpha to her, he knew that no matter what he said, nothing was going to change the young woman's attitude towards his Alpha, at least not at this moment in time. Instead he chose a different course in aiding his Alpha and this young mortal who now dwelled in a world where danger would forever stalk her. "But to explain to you the situation you have come to be in; one that you cannot see because you simply do not know our world."

What was it about logic that made it hard to argue against? Serena found herself wondering. Jadeite had come with calm logic while his arrogant jerk of an Alpha had come with commands and expectations.

If Jadeite – whom Serena helplessly found herself liking all the more – wanted to sit her down and calmly explain the situation to her, then she wouldn't stop him. It wasn't as if she had places to go and things to do.

The truth was that Serena was bored out of her skull and being angry at Darien did help to fill the hours a little bit. What could she say she was only human, which was more than she could say for _him_, but regardless of everything, being constantly angry at someone was exhausting, especially someone who wasn't even there.

So with that in mind Serena walked over to the bed and took a seat, wanting to be comfortable because she had the feeling that this was going to take a while.

Jadeite smiled, grateful that Serena was willing to at least hear him out – so long as he didn't try to plead Darien's case as he was mildly tempted to do.

Darien had waited too long for the gift of a mate and Jadeite loved his brother dearly and wished him only all the good things he deserved.

"We're not the typical creatures of your mortal legends," Jadeite began as he watched Serena settle down on the bed to listen as a child would for a bedtime story. "We are Lycaons, not werewolves. The moon holds no sway over us; we choose when we shift, and we can only change into a wolf, not some creature in the in-between. Even the Anami – vampires – are different than those your race writes legends and movies about."

"Anami will not burn into cinders if they are exposed to the light of day; if they remain too long in the light of day they suffer, and will eventually die, but not by fire." Jadeite considered the description for a moment, wording his next sentence in his mind before speaking it. "To express it in a way you would understand, their life force is drained away until their bodies no longer have the life force left to live."

Serena couldn't help herself, she found herself fascinated by what Jadeite was explaining; she was being pulled in just as Jadeite had no doubt intended. He was helping her to understand her situation and for a few moments forget her anger towards Darien by distracting her and Serena was thankful for the – if only temporary – reprieve from everything.

"The two Immortal races, the Anami and we, the Lycaon kind, are nearly as old as the human race itself. We once lived in the open, in the light, with mortal kind, guiding and nurturing the mortal race but then came the birth of the Damned."

The tone of Jadeite's voice changed, becoming solemn, telling Serena that the birth of the Damned kind had in no way been a good thing.

"Those who would become the Damned fed on the life force of mortal kind and in the taking of life's blood, they became mad in their ignited ravenous thirst for more, and so they fell into forever lasting madness, and became creatures that are forever at the mercy of their raging thirst."

"To protect the mortal race and ourselves from an everlasting existence in fear and terror, the Immortal races faded from the mortal world and into the darkness of night, but our sacrifice came at a high cost, so say to high a cost. Life became harder for us Immortals, for in our Immortal lives in truth it was the goodness and love of the mortal race that kept us strong, kept us true to ourselves. But living in the darkness, almost becoming a part of it, took its toll upon us and it became harder for us to see the light, even within ourselves."

"To make matters worse for us, we were forced to kill the Damned to protect mortal kind, but the Damned are those who were once part of us, our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. Our kin. To kill a Damned was to kill one that others of the Immortal races loved. This sparked the war between the Anami and the Lycaon people. A war which raged for millennia."

"With two wars to fight, and even more Immortals becoming of the Damned, our numbers fell until we barely lingered in the low thousands. Facing the extinction of the Immortal kind while the Damned grew stronger, the Anami and the Lycaon kind were left with no choice but to decree peace by signing a peace treaty not even two hundred years ago."

"Now all that remains is the war against the Damned, who grow increasingly stronger every year with each Immortal who gives up hope and feeds on the lives of mortal kind. The Damned are ruthless evil creatures without mercy or compassion. They kill without regret and they kill many. That is what we do, we fight to keep them from overrunning the Earth and turning the mortal race into an all you can eat buffet."

Serena stared into Jadeite's profound eyes, speechlessly. What could she say in the face of such long-lasting hardship?

* * *

It was really beginning to irritate Darien that his mate was patient and pleasant to his own Betas while she continued to find him insufferable. He didn't blame her because he was keeping her in the manor against her will, but that didn't mean he had to like it damn it!

For the past few minutes Darien had been listening from the floor below as Jadeite had outlined their history to his mate – highly edited of course – until he'd been unable to stand it any longer. He stalked up the stairs and without conscious memory of arriving there, Darien stood in the open door way of his own bed chamber.

"-all you can eat buffet."

Jadeite fell silent when he finally noticed his Alpha's presence, looking at him warily, not knowing whether or not he was in trouble; he had done what he could to minimise any risk of angering his Alpha. He had assured that a female was present so that he would not be alone with another Lycaon's mate – which could often lead to a violent physical battle – and he had edited their Lycaon history down almost to the point of becoming disrespectful to those in the past who had lost their lives or their loved ones.

Darien gave all three of them a hard glare from the doorway. "Don't you have duties to attend too?" The sun was setting; the assigned Units had to embark on their hunt for Sapphire within a quarter of an hour.

Without a word Summer and the two Beta's quickly left the room, and were out of sight within moments. His Beta's would prepare for the hunt while Summer would remain close enough to return to her post outside the bedroom door once Darien left.

Once they were alone, Darien entered his bedroom, not bothering to close the door behind him, his steady gaze on Serena.

Who was glaring wrathfully at him from where she still sat on the bed.

"You seem to be settling in." Darien stated conversationally.

Serena snorted. "You wish."

Oh, how he did, but Darien saw the wisdom in not saying so out loud.

"I am needed in the city for a few hours. I have business I must attend to that cannot wait." Darien informed her, regretfully. He in no way liked the idea of leaving her, but his mortal personal assistant had called from the company headquarters in the city. Apparently his board of directors were trying to bankrupt the company through some really very poor business decisions that only he could put a stop to in person.

But it was Darien's company, he owned eighty percent of the shares and as a result he had the undisputed ruling vote. If he didn't want something to happen, it didn't; even when they attempted such in his absence, they were unsuccessful, largely due to the several members of staff, all whom were unquestionably loyal to him, who reported to him of such things.

His personal assistant was only one of many who reported to him.

"I'll only be gone an hour or two." Darien added; he wouldn't be leaving her at all but he had to protect his pack's income.

Serena raised a questioning eyebrow, simultaneously asking him without words what it had to do with her and conveying to him that she really didn't care what he did.

Again, Darien wisely decided to let her irritating indifference to him pass. For now. One way or another, her difficult attitude would soon come to an end. There was only so far she could push him before she would be forced to face the consequences.

Briefly, Darien considered offering her the chance to come with him, but he didn't trust her in public not to run from him, or scream high heaven at the first opportunity. On top of that, the city wasn't safe at the moment, not for her.

The safest place for her, until Diamond and Sapphire were far from the city and his territory, was here at the manor.

Due to his unforeseen absence, Darien had already amended his orders for the night. He had left instructions with Nephlite that he and Jadeite were to leave the hunt for Sapphire to Zoicite and remain at the manor to protect the pack and watch over Serena.

Zoisite and two units would suffice for the hunt; Zoisite may have been the third in line of his Beta's but he was no less capable than his two brother Beta's.

"You are to stay in this room and you will not cause any trouble," Darien instructed her in a mildly warning tone. "I have left orders that under no circumstances are you to leave this room, so don't even try. You will not get far, I promise you that."

Serena opened her mouth to colourfully blast him with anatomically impossible suggestions but before she could say a word, Darien was gone in a blur of black and the doors closed firmly behind him. He had left in the blink of an eye before she could get her own two cents in!

Ooh! That really ticked her off! If the jerk was going to order her about the least he could do was stay for the argument to follow.

Serena was really becoming sick and tired of the jerk's commanding attitude and his expectations that she should jump to his exact specifications.

The jerk really needed to be knocked down a notch or two.

The jerk had _finally_ allowed her to contact her loved ones who were worried sick about her – again, that was _his_ fault – and now he was _informing_ her on his whereabouts as if she should actually care!

Serena had never thought herself a saint, but she had always believed that she had a reasonable level of tolerance and patience - that had been before the jerk had kidnapped her and dragged her back to his enormous mansion of Immortal werewolves.

No, not werewolves, Lycaons.

The jerk was pushing every button she had without even trying and it was driving her fury to new heights. And what was worse was that Serena could feel herself gradually becoming more and more comfortable here and she didn't want that.

Serena had to get out of there before she became too complacent and now that Darien was leaving, this was her chance. She wasn't going to stay one more minute in this mansion as his prisoner! She had had enough of him and his possessive obsession with her.

What's more, Serena was afraid that she would soon forget all about getting away from the jerk, that soon she would lose her will or even the notion of escaping. She was a prisoner here and she couldn't afford to forget that. Not for anything. Darien and his kind were dangerous and it was only a matter of time before he lost his temper again.

There was no telling what he would do when pushed to limits – and she had no intention of either ceasing her pushing or being there when his infuriating control finally broke.

* * *

Not thirty minutes later, Serena watched from the fourth floor balcony of the jerk's room studying the outer wall of the mansion and the immediate grounds in the dimming light of twilight.

Fifteen minutes ago Serena had watched as the jerk and the one she knew as Zoisite, along with at least a dozen others, load into a black stretch limo and the two black SUV's that looked like something out of a modern gangster movie, and drive out like they on their way to a shady business deal in the middle of nowhere, safe from the eyes of the law.

Serena wanted them – the jerk especially – to be as far from her as possible.

This was her chance. She waited only a few minutes knowing with each passing moment the jerk was further and further away before she threw her leg over the balcony railing, turned around and drew in a deep breath for courage.

As far as Serena could see it, her only real way out of the mansion undetected was over the balcony as the door was well guarded; she wouldn't make it passed the two guards again. If they guessed her intentions, they would merely avoid the ordeal by locking the doors and sealing her inside.

The last thing Serena wanted was to be locked in.

The fortunate thing was that there were two other balconies directly beneath hers, the three perfectly aligned like semi-circled shelves on a wall.

In high school, Serena had been something of a klutz. After her parents had died, as part of her resolution to continue on, she'd taken some dance classes where she'd learned to move her feet without falling or tripping over. The dance classes had been the kind that included all kind of dance from ballroom to ballet to jazz to modern dance. There had even been one or two classes of exotic dancing that had involved explicit dancing on a stripper pole – which not even the girls knew about and never would, not without some serious torture.

The first year of the dance classes still made her wince at the memory; she'd endured bumps, bruises, strained and pulled muscles and even a mildly sprained ankle, but in the end it had all been worth it. She hadn't exactly become graceful, but the lessons had left her with a better awareness of her body and her body's capabilities.

And at this present moment in time, Serena was thankful for every minute of the weekly classes she'd attended for two years in which the dance teacher could have doubled as a combat instructor for the Marine Corp. In the end she'd been sad to drop the classes, but after two years she'd accomplished what she'd come for and on top of that she needed to focus on her studies at University and she couldn't afford the classes and her textbooks.

As she'd been taught in class, Serena closed her eyes and pictured what she wanted to do. She needed to get this right, if she fell the fall probably wouldn't kill her but she was more than high enough to break bones if she slipped and fell.

Holding onto the balcony railing, Serena crouched low – this was the most difficult part – and while holding onto the railing, she slid her hands down until she was holding the absolute bottom of the rail beams, only an inch above where her feet were perched.

She would only have one chance at this, and to top it off she had to be as quiet as possible or else the Lycaons who inhabited the mansion – all with superhuman hearing – would hear her.

This was the moment of truth; the hardest part was dropping her body without losing her grip on the railing. If she did this right, then with a little bit of gymnastics, she'd be able to drop onto the balcony below.

If she didn't do it right, then it was going to hurt.

A lot.

Her entire body was tensed, her pale hands grasping the runs in a death grip and her feet. Serena knew it was now or never. She couldn't hang around on the outside of the balcony railing forever.

Swallowing, Serena allowed her feet to slip from the balcony floor beneath her and just like that she was falling down through the air, until an instant later her arms caught and she winced under the jarring strain of her death grip on the railing ending her descent.

The scariest part was over. Now she was dangling two and a half stories above the ground, her feet hovering only six or seven inches above the railing of the third floor balcony below.

Now all Serena had to do was find the courage to let go and pray that no one saw her while she took a little time to find said courage.

* * *

Jadeite, Nephlite and two of the Anami guards watched from below, hidden in the shadows of the large tree by the manors near single story high wall, unable to be seen by mortal eyes as Darien's mortal mate was determinedly attempting to escape Darien's room by means of using the balcony and those below it as a giant ladder.

"We should stop her," Nephlite growled edgily, his voice so low that no mortal ear would have been able to hear even if they stood where Jadeite stood directly beside him.

Immortal hearing was far greater than that of mortals.

Jadeite shook his head no. "If we startle her she could fall." He turned his head to give Nephlite a piercing look. "Do you want to be the one to tell Darien that his mate suffered harm by our direct doing?"

Jadeite knew what would happen as it would be exactly what he would do if he was in Darien's place. If he left Rei in the care of another and she was hurt because of that person's actions, there would be blood to pay.

"If she falls anyway-."

"Then we will have time to catch her," Jadeite interrupted as he turned his gaze back to the manor in time to see their Alpha's mortal mate swing her body back and forth enough that when she let go the momentum of her swinging body sent her falling down and forward, to land safely on the balcony below.

They all heard her hushed triumphantly whispered, "yes!"

Moments ago Nephlite had heard Serena step over the balcony and had immediately alerted Jadeite. They had then quickly hastened out into the gardens where they could monitor her unseen.

Jadeite had been left in charge of the manor and Serena's safety. For a moment they had feared she was going to try to make some ill-conceived suicide attempt, but then she had lowered herself until she was grasping the runs of the balcony railing and they had realised her true intentions. Jadeite had then decided to reframe from acting until she either needed their help or she made it safely down.

He couldn't risk Serena hurting herself in this impressive – but very foolish – mortal method of escaping the manor – even though she wasn't at risk at the moment as any of them could catch her if she fell – or endangering herself by leaving the grounds therefore their protection. But at the same time Jadeite didn't want to cause more conflict between Darien and his mate by having this little adventure turn into an incident which he would be forced to report to Darien.

None of them liked keeping secrets from Darien, but this one would be for the best. The last thing the Darien and Serena needed between them was another argument as Darien would definitely have something to say to his mate about this little escapade – that wouldn't be delivered in a calm logical manner – and the friction between them would only worsen.

Darien needed his mate, in all ways, but in truth Darien had Serena in so few ways. There would be times when Darien would need the comfort and soothing touch of his mate; he would need to feel that connection between them that all mated Lycaons knew. Soon, this situation between then would not be enough for Darien – as it stood Jadeite knew the Lycaon nature well enough to know that from the moment Darien had laid eyes upon his mate in recognition of what she truly was, his Beast would have been strongly demanding Darien to take her, completely and in all ways, to claim, to mark her as his for all time. To forge the unbreakable link of mates between them that would bind them permanently.

But that could never happen if Darien and Serena continued to butt heads as they were, driving Serena even further away and strengthening her resolve to keep her distance – physically mentally and emotionally – from him.

Jadeite hoped that he could talk Serena into returning to her room under her own steam without fuss – if any of them even got too close to her, Darien would smell them on her and he would not be pleased.

Unfortunately, young mortal women were not known for being logical and cooperative; as most of the daytime soaps on television attested too.

In his mind, Jadeite heard Rei's warning growl at the offending thought.

Jadeite suppressed his smile and once again told his mate to keep out of this. She was currently hunting on the far side of the manor, and only remained away at his request. No doubt before this night was out, at least one woman would raise her voice to him, he did not need his mate added to the equation.

_'I can get her back to her room much easier than you can!'_ Rei snapped irritably – with a sardonic edge to her tone – into his mind from fifteen miles away.

Jadeite did roll his eyes. _'I know you far better than that, my darling. You would side with her the moment she made the argument that Darien is mistreating her by keeping her here against her will.'_

Rei's only response was another warning growl.

* * *

Now that she was only the third floor balcony, Serena had a decision to make. She could repeat the process until she reached the ground or she could take the easier option of using the door as it was unlikely that it would be locked or guarded as hers was.

Going over the balcony again would be the harder of the two options while going through the mansion increased her chances of being caught or cornered.

An easy choice, especially now that she knew she could do it.

Serena swiftly threw her leg over the balcony railing once again and carefully but more confidently this time repeated the process. She crouched low holding onto the runs of the rail, allowed her feet to drop from the balcony floor until she was dangling in the air, holding on tightly and then she swung her body back and forth until she had enough momentum and then she let go, landing solidly on the second story balcony below.

Only one more floor to go.

Serena drew in a deep breath to prepare herself and threw her leg over the rail, when the glass doors behind her caught her attention.

Caught between her curiosity to have a look and her need to get away from the mansion of the arrogant jerk, Serena hesitated for a long silent moment before her curiosity caught the better of her and she left the railing and went to the doors that lead out onto the balcony.

The doors were made of glass and thin golden trim, they reached from barely an inch below the third floor above to the floor at her feet; the entire wall and the large arched double doors were made mostly of smooth clear glass.

But it was lay within that caught her breath and made her eyes open wide in wondrous awe. It was gorgeous! Like something magical from a dream or a fairy tale!

It was a ballroom but one unlike any she had ever seen except in Disney's _Beauty and the Beast_. What was it with that movie?! If the mansion hadn't obviously been older than the movie Serena would've believed that they'd seen the movie and endeavoured to design their mansion in a close as fashion as possible – although she had yet to see a talking tea pot or even a suit of armour.

The ballroom was two stories high with a landing going around the interior level with the second floor, opening up onto the balcony. The walls were ornately designed like something from a grand palace with cream white and gold, while the floor was marble, but instead of smoky grey through the white marble, it was a golden pattern in the exact same design as the traditional smoky grey and white marble. The staircases and the second floor landing were covered with long rolls of golden carpet, exactly like the endlessly long red carpet royalty were known for using.

The ceiling was marvellously and skilfully painted just like the Sistine Chapel, only the images were of great grand and proud wolves standing on grassy cliffs, wolves howling at the moon and running through a fairy tale forest of perfect tall vibrant trees. Hanging from the ceiling in the centre of the room was an enormous sparkling chandelier of crystal and gold. It was the side of an up-side-down Christmas tree that was three sizes to big to fit into the living room of the normal household.

What was a room like this doing in such a dreary mansion? It didn't belong here, not this room of white and gold and glistening crystal. It belonged in some royal castle somewhere far away in an exotic land. Or in a fairy tale, but not here in the middle of the forest in the dreary mansion of the arrogant Lycaon who kept her prisoner.

Before Serena even knew what she was doing, her hand was on the delicate thin curved handle of the door and was pushing it downwards, more than half expecting the door to be locked.

But it wasn't locked. The door handle went smoothly downwards and when Serena stepped back, the door came without the slightest resistance, as if the door weighed nothing at all.

It was as if someone else had taken control of her body, Serena didn't think about entering the room, or anything else, but she was suddenly inside the room, walking along the landing towards the wide golden carpeted staircase that lead down to the ballroom floor. She wasn't aware of her own feet taking one stair down and then another, but suddenly she was standing on the ballroom floor that felt smooth even beneath her shoed feet.

And that's when she saw the last detail of the room that she hadn't been able to see from the second floor.

Beneath the second floor landing that lead out onto the second story balcony, was a single stair dais that was draped in golden carpet and surrounded by matching golden drapes that were pulled back to reveal the glass wall with golden trimming and wide high arched doors that made up the wall behind the two solid gold thrones that sat in the centre of the dais.

The largest throne sat in the dead centre of the dais was nearly twice the size of the second that sat half a step behind the largest throne, slightly to the left.

Serena was astonished to realise that she was really looking at two thrones. One that she knew without doubt belonged to Darien, the Lycaon Prince, while the second was that of a Princess who sat beside the prince.

What was this place? What was she in the middle of? So many times by many she'd been told that Darien was an Alpha, a prince. That he and those with him were immortal shape-shifting wolves.

There was the grandest of grand throne rooms in this dreary mansion of an Immortal Lycaon prince who kept insisting that she was his mate.

His mate . . .

And in the blink of an eye the reality of everything that she'd been denying for days hit her and she couldn't breathe beneath the crushing weight of the terrifying hand that gripped her that was this impossible reality.

Darien intended for her to sit beside him here as some kind of Lycaon Princess. This is where he wanted her to be, beside him on a throne that did not belong to her that she did not want. She didn't want to sit beside him on a golden throne like some fragile decoration.

Serena wanted a normal life, she wanted to be free. She didn't want any part in any of this.

She had to get out of there. Now. If she stayed another moment, then she may never have what she really wanted – to be free with her normal _safe_ life.

Refusing to look at the thrones, Serena ran for the doors behind them, praying that they weren't locked either. She had to get out of there, not just the ballroom but the entire mansion and its grounds.

The doors opened just as easily as the one above and Serena ran out onto the terrace below the second floor balcony, the cool night air hitting her like icy water and finally she felt as if she could breathe again.

The ballroom was just a room and she didn't have to be anyone she didn't want to be. She was going to get out of there and get back to her normal life and forget any of this ever happened. She didn't have to be the mate of anyone she didn't want to be, she didn't have to be some kind of werewolf princess or sit on a golden throne beside an Alpha prince.

When she finally got back to her normal life, this would be nothing but a bad dream that she could forget.

Drawing the cool night air repeatedly deep into her lungs, Serena allowed the logic her mind was comforting her with to wash over her and cleanse her of everything that she'd just endured.

She chose her own path, made her own fate. No one else. What was in that ballroom was of no concern to her.

Looking around, Serena firmly forced her mind back on track. She needed to escape. She had made it out of the mansion, which was the first step. A mansion that in truth had left her a little disappointed because escaping from its wall had been easier than she'd anticipated.

Now all that was left was the story high stone wall.

Serena edged closer to the edge of the terrace, searching the darkness for any sign of movement. She had gotten out of the mansion without being discovered, now all she had to do was traverse the gardens that stood between her and the wall, which she had to then climb, and then all she had to do was make it through the woods for what could be several miles before she reached the closest sign of _human_ civilisation.

No sweat.

Of all the good fortune she'd had so far, Serena had no illusions that the Immortal Superhuman inhabitants of the mansion would simply open the gates for her and let her walk out of there. And while she was fantasising the impossible, why not ask them for a car she could use to drive back into the city?

She had a better chance at sprouting wings and flying over the wall.

As far as the gate went Serena had no idea how to do it herself; there was no key pad or anything on the inside of the gate that she'd been able to see during her _stay_ and she wasn't going to waste any time searching for one in the dark.

Instead Serena went in the opposite direction, out into the open in the cool night air and she bolted as fast as she could towards the one place she knew she could get over the wall. She had planned her escape – what she could anyway – for the last half an hour from the balcony on the fourth floor, before she'd launched into action.

The towering solid stone wall surrounded three sides of the mansion while the fourth side was protected by a several story drop in the form of a sheer cliff face. Barely three feet from where the wall ended at the cliff, there was a large old tree with thick branches that overhung the wall.

Serena had dressed knowing that it may very well be pre-dawn morning before she made it anywhere. Hell, she didn't even know where she was! But she couldn't be too far from a highway or small town, or at least she hoped that was the case. Darien and his people seemed to like their privacy, but Darien had gone into the city with the expectation of being back in a few hours. Knowing Darien had things to do in the city meant that they couldn't be that far from it.

She wore a pair of tan brown jeans – that were so expensive they felt like silk against her skin – a simple white cotton blouse and a heavy dark brown jacket that would keep her warm, at least until early morning if she was still outside. And on her feet she wore the most comfortable pair of running shoes she'd ever put her feet into.

Everything she wore – even her underwear – had been brought for her but even though Darien had paid for them it was obvious he hadn't picked them; the style was too fashionable and the sizes were too exact to have been chosen by a male, no matter how old.

A flash of dark chocolate brown was Serena's only warning as the large shape whirled passed her so fast that it was only an indistinguishable blur, pulling her abruptly from her thoughts.

Serena came to such an abrupt halt that she almost toppled forward. She only just managed to catch her balance in time to prevent herself from falling flat on her face.

And just like that, in the space of a blink of an eye, Serena was surrounded. She stood in the middle of a wide circle, surrounded by four men and three gigantic wolves. They made no move towards her and most of them stood tense and ready, watchful but without hostility in either their body language or their expressions. Their intent in their expressionless demeanours was obvious, they endeavoured to appear as non-threatening as possible; even the wolves appeared in no way threatening. Their goal was not to harm her, but to keep her from running.

The only one of them Serena knew was Jadeite, who stood directly in front of her, staring grimly and silently at her, as if waiting for her to be the firth to say or do something. The three wolves watched her with predatory intensity, but stood silent and still, only their eyes showed the human intellect beneath the animal surface. One wolf was the chocolate brown wolf she'd caught a brief glimpse of as he'd shot passed her. Unlike the other two wolves, he didn't have a white belly or face, but he did have deep jade green eyes that watched her with a penetrating and potent note of sadness and heavy burdens.

Serena knew that this wolf was Nephlite; she'd heard Jadeite say his name the second time he had taken post outside her door when she'd opened the doors to ask for her breakfast. There was no forgetting someone like Nephlite, especially his sad black eyes filled with barely controlled violence and the aura of danger and blood thirst that hung around him like a smoker's cloud.

The other two wolves Serena had no idea who they were, but they were equal size to Nephlite so she assumed that they were both male. One was cloud grey on the top half of his body from his nose to the tip of his tale while his belly and under his neck and tail was pure snow white. And the third wolf was a mixture of colours, from creamy brown to dark grey, even a glint of red beneath the last glimpse of the evening sun that would be gone from the horizon within moments.

Two of the men, however, were different from the Lycaons and Serena recognised what it was that made them different. Unlike Jadeite, like any of the people in the mansion, they didn't have a healthy tan or any colour in their skin. They were deadly pale, like death, and their eyes were dark and ghostly. They weren't malicious eyes as those who had attacked her had had; these eyes held soulful sorrow and despair within.

Jadeite immediately understood the panic in the young mortal's eyes at the sight of the two Anami. There was no mistaking them, even being the mortal that she was. Both times she'd been attacked at least a number of them had been Damned Anami.

"They mean you no harm." Jadeite told her in his most soothing, calming tone, assuring her that everything was alright, that there was nothing to fear. "These Anami – vampires –." He added quickly, preying that she remembered what he had told her just a few hours ago about the Immortal Races – in retrospect he should have told her a little more.

Jadeite saw but chose to ignore the glare from the two Anami – Anami found the term "vampire" insulting and inaccurate – and went on, "-are not of the Damned, the evil killers of the Immortal Races. They mean you no harm. Their purpose here is to protect you."

Jadeite took a measured step towards her, holding his hands up as if he was surrendering to her, showing that he meant her no harm himself. "They were sent here by their Prince to help protect you."

The more Serena learned, the more mystified she became, but it didn't matter. She didn't want to learn more about the werewolves and vampires! She wanted to get away from them, forget them – yeah, like that was ever going to happen – and get on with her life! She didn't want to be protected – or attacked – by werewolves and vampires. Most of all she wanted to get away from a certain Lycaon Prince who was determined to keep her prisoner here.

She was surrounded – she didn't take her eyes off the two vampires – but fortunately Serena knew she still had a chance to get away, as long as Darien wasn't there. It also helped that all who surrounded her were male.

"Let me go." Serena directed the demand at Jadeite, who seemed to be the leader of them when Darien wasn't there.

"I can't." Jadeite's eyes were apologetic and sincere. "You don't know the great danger that awaits you outside of these walls. You would not last the night before you fell into Damned hands."

"I don't care!" Serena cried despairingly, she just wanted to get away from there – from Darien – and get back to her normal life. It was too dangerous for her to stay there because if she stayed much longer she wouldn't want to leave when she eventually had the chance. "I can't stay here! I just want to go home."

"You are a part of this whether you want to be or not," Jadeite told her straightforwardly, willing to give the different approach a try – the cold hard truth of her situation. "No matter where you run, how far you go from here, you will always be in constant danger. What's more, you'll put those you care about in danger just by association."

Serena wanted to scream at Jadeite that he was wrong, that they were all nuts and impossible, but she couldn't. She didn't have it in her because she knew he was right; she just hadn't been able to face the truth of it until now, until he'd forced her too. So she wouldn't contact her friends, she'd run, as fast and as far as she had too.

It was time to put her assumptions about the men who surrounded her to the test. Serena knew just what to do. She was only twenty feet or so away.

Jadeite knew she was going to try something – that would not make their job any easier – the moment her eyes became hard with decision and determination born of desperation. She wanted to escape and she was going to try her damn hardest to do just that.

He expected her to bolt, to try again to get to the tree that she could climb to scale the wall and escape.

What he wasn't prepared for was for Serena to walk calmly but purposefully passed Nephlite, not to the tree but to the cliff's edge. It was because he hadn't expected it of her that she actually made it to barely two feet from the cliffs edge that was a sheer drop that would certainly kill her.

Jadeite froze, the action simultaneously mirrored by the rest of those who stood with him.

Serena looked straight into Jadeite's eyes, allowing him to see the seriousness within. She wasn't about to jump, but she wasn't about to let Jadeite know that. All she had to do was remain calm, keep her heartbeat steady and her breathing even and with any luck at all they might just believe she was willing to jump.

They had yet to even come to close to her. That told Serena that they were under strict orders from their Alpha that no harm was to come to her; she wouldn't have even put it passed the arrogant prince to give the order that no male was to touch her.

In fact, Serena was counting on it.

"Back off," Serena ordered them all but kept her eyes steadily glued to Jadeite's alert wide eyes. "You're going to let me go or I'll jump right now. Some women can live under the thumb of an arrogant domineering jerk, but I won't."

Jadeite took a single exaggerated step backwards, demonstrating to her that he wasn't going to come near her, just as she wished. "Serena, you don't want to do this. Think of those who you love."

"Let her go."

Serena gasped, startled, as she moved her gaze from Jadeite to the female figure with long black hair who now stood just behind Jadeite, to his left. She hadn't been there a moment before. If they could move that fast, then it had to be solely Darien's orders that kept them from snatching her up before she could even realise that the ground was no longer beneath her feet.

"Rei-." Jadeite spoke to his wolfmate and wife but kept his eyes glued to the mortal woman who was standing on the edge of a cliff.

Serena recognised the woman – who looked to be her age but since they were Immortal Serena wasn't going to even guess her real age – with blue eyes and long thick black hair that reached her knees, from the entrance hall when Serena had tried to escape the first time she'd woken in the mansion. She was dressed in a medieval styled ruby red gown with black trimmings that had extra long sleeves that one side of almost caressed the ground at her feet and a neckline that was an inch away from revealing. She stood tall and proud, like a woman who was accustomed to being listened too and obeyed.

Regal was the word.

The beautiful woman's eyes continued to stare back into Serena's own and she found herself unable to look away. The woman had the most penetrating all-seeing gaze that Serena had ever known, it was almost as if this woman could see right down into her soul to see all that she was, all that laid in her past and in her heart of hearts.

"Let her go," Rei repeated commandingly, cutting Jadeite off before he could say another word other than what Serena assumed was the woman's name. "You are free to go, Serena. If that is your choice, but go knowing that my brother will come for you. From him you will never be able to escape; one day, when you come to truly understand, you won't even want too."

Not about to let her chance slip by for anything, Serena turned on her heel, ran to the wall and quickly scaled the tree, landing heavily on the other side. She didn't know how long it would be before they came after her, but she knew she didn't have time to waste.

Running as fast as she could through the trees until she couldn't run anymore, Serena slowed to a jog as she weaved through the trees, not once hearing any sound that would hint she was being followed.

Time passed, how much Serena had no idea, but when she finally did reach the two lane road, Serena was exhausted, hot and sweaty.

Fortunately, Serena only had to walk for a few minutes before a car approached, and at seeing her – a young woman alone after dark in the middle of no where – the old couple within stopped and offered her a ride into the city.

Even as she slid into the back brown leathered seat of the pale blue station wagon Serena knew that it wasn't over yet. The woman Rei wasn't wrong. Darien would come after her, and if Serena wanted to truly escape, she needed to be long gone from the city by sunrise.

As the car pulled back onto the road, Serena looked back and saw a glimpse of a thick bushy tail disappear back into the trees.

The wolves were already on the hunt for her.

* * *

Chapter End Notes:

Chapter 5 will be posted by June, promise!


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